- He captained 11 matches, suffering just one T20 International loss.
Ajinkya Rahane, affectionately known as ‘Jinks’, has brought the curtain down on a memorable international career, leaving behind an exceptional legacy. While he spent much of his career as a dependable middle-order batsman and a key figure in India’s core leadership group, his tenure as stand-in captain etched his name permanently into cricket history.
Rahane holds a unique, unbeaten captaincy record in Test and ODI formats an achievement that iconic Indian leaders like MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, and Rohit Sharma never managed to replicate.
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Unbeaten Legacy Written In Numbers
Across 11 international matches as captain, Rahane suffered just a single loss.
In the longer formats Tests and ODIs he remained completely undefeated. His 6-match Test record of 4 wins and 2 draws gives him the highest win percentage for any Indian skipper who has led the side in at least five Tests. Rahane never served as India’s permanent captain, but his ability to step up under immense pressure cements his status as one of Indian cricket’s most composed leaders.
Breakdown Of Rahane’s Complete Leadership Match Sheet
Over the course of his international career, Rahane was handed the captain’s armband in 11 matches across all three formats. Here is how his match-by-match record as Indian captain stacked up across formats:
Limited-Overs Series Against Zimbabwe (2015): Rahane’s captaincy journey began with a clean sweep in the 50-over format, registering victories by 4 runs, 62 runs, and 83 runs. In the short-format leg of the tour, India clinched the opening T20I with a 54-run victory before dropping the second game by 10 runs the lone defeat in Rahane’s entire leadership tenure.
Test Wins at Home and Neutral Venues: Rahane proved his mettle in red-ball cricket early on, commanding a 8-wicket victory against Australia in Dharamshala (2017) and an emphatic innings & 262-run triumph over Afghanistan in Bengaluru (2018).
The Historic Australian Test Campaign (2020–21): Stepping in as skipper under severe pressure, Rahane sparked a turnaround with an 8-wicket win in Melbourne, held out for a dramatic draw in Sydney, and capped off a legendary series triumph with a thriller 3-wicket victory at the Gabba in Brisbane.
Final Test Outing Against New Zealand (2021): Rahane’s final assignment leading the Test side in Kanpur concluded in a hard-fought draw, preserving his flawless red-ball record.
Conqueror Of The Down Under Jinx
Ajinkya Rahane’s finest hour as captain came during India’s memorable 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy victory in Australia. Following the team’s crushing defeat in Adelaide where India was bowled out for just 36 runs and the departure of regular skipper Virat Kohli on paternity leave, Rahane stepped up to lead a battered and injury-ravaged squad.
Displaying calm tactical acumen and unwavering resilience, he rallied the team to a historic 2-1 series victory. The triumph in Australia remains the crown jewel of Rahane’s captaincy journey.
