Indian batsman Ajinkya Rahane said that his team will have to bowl with a lot of patience on fifth day on Monday in their pursuit of victory in the second Test against Sri Lanka in Colombo.
Chasing 413, Sri Lanka finished day four at 72 for two, needing another 341 runs for victory, while India need to get eight more wickets for a win.
"I think the match is poised pretty well. We just have to be in the present because throughout the four days we played some good cricket," said Rahane after the fourth day's play.
"It is important to be in the present. And tomorrow, we need to take it one wicket at a time. We just need to be patient, that will be the key, because this wicket is getting slower and slower. There will be good partnerships but one good session for us and we can win this Test," he added.
Having played a stellar role to take India to a total of 325 for eight declared in their second innings, thereby taking an overall lead of 412 runs, Rahane (126) said his partnerships with Murali Vijay (82) and Rohit Sharma (34) proved to be crucial.
"Building a partnership was the crucial aspect of our batting today. So we were looking to build a partnership. Vijay was batting well at the other end and our communication was very good. We were talking a lot in the middle. The partnership between Rohit and me was also very crucial," pointed out Rahane.
"Even in the first innings, Virat (Kohli) and (KL) Rahul played very positively. In the second innings, we wanted to be in the present but at the same time, we wanted to dominate their bowling. I think the partnership between Vijay and myself gave us that momentum. Virat and Rohit came in and took their time. I feel that intent has to be there and results will follow automatically," he added.
This was Rahane's first Test ton in the subcontinent, with the previous three coming in New Zealand, England and Australia.
"When I got out in the first innings, I was very hurt," said the centurion about his first innings' score of four.
"I worked with batting coach Sanjay Bangar and we came earlier and did some throw downs. So his hard work and Ravi Shastri's inputs really helped me in the second innings. My aim was to play as close to my body as possible and later on just build my innings. So I was just looking to play the ball, take my time and once I was set I wanted to play a long innings," said Rahane.
