Indian cricketer Ajinkya Rahane made his debut in 2013 during the home series against Australia. Rahane has since been one of India's mainstays in the longest format, cementing his spot at the fifth place in the Test side.
For the right-handed batsman, his debut wasn't a successful one with the bat. He had scores of 7 and 1 in the two innings during the Ferozeshah Kotla Test, which was also the final match of the series. He may have eventually missed Sachin Tendulkar's farewell series later in the same year, but Rahane cherishes the time when he played with India's batting legend during his debut.
It was the only time when the Indian middle-order batsman shared the crease with Tendulkar in Tests. Rahane now recalls the experience of batting with him.
"I didn’t know how to react, I was feeling mixed emotions. It was, obviously, a special moment for me, but I was a bit feeling nervousness and excitement as well,” Rahane told Deep Das Gupta during a conversation for ESPNCricinfo.
He further recalled what Tendulkar said to him to calm him down. "When I went to bat, I had Sachin Tendulkar on the other end. Sachin paaji told me to enjoy the moment and forget everything else. I did not have a great debut, but it was memorable," he added.
Rahane eventually got out after scoring just 7 runs at hands off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
"I remember coming in to bat at number 5, it was a bit challenging. You know that if you are batting at number 6 or 7 in India, the ball is old, fielders are spread out," said Rahane.
"And when you have batted in the top order all along. You have to work hard to adjust. But none of these thoughts came into my mind at that time. I was happy playing for India," he added.
