Ajinkya Rahane brought a moment of light relief to cricket coverage on Tuesday when he delivered a spot-on impersonation of former India head coach Ravi Shastri, sending the studio panel into fits of laughter during a live broadcast.
The mimicry took place on Sony's 'Extraaa Innings' show, where Rahane was part of the panel analysing the ongoing Galle Test between India and Sri Lanka. Presenter Samir Kochhar, along with former India cricketers Ajay Jadeja and Mohammad Kaif, could not hold back their laughter after Rahane's impression of Shastri.
Rahane and Shastri's shared time with India
Shastri served as head coach of the Indian men's team from July 2017 to November 2021, a period during which Rahane was a senior figure in the Test squad. Rahane held the vice-captaincy during that tenure and led India in the last three Tests of the 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy after Virat Kohli returned home on paternity leave. The two worked closely together across that four-year coaching stint before Rahul Dravid took over the role following the 2021 ICC T20 World Cup.
The impersonation clip has been shared on Instagram, drawing attention from cricket fans who tuned in to the show's coverage of the Galle Test.
The match itself is at a critical stage heading into the afternoon session on Day 4. India posted 462 in their first innings, and Sri Lanka responded with 284, a recovery built largely on a maiden Test century from Sonal Dinusha and an 80 from Niroshan Dickwella after the hosts had slipped to 90 for five.
Match situation at Galle on Day 4
India's spinners did the bulk of the bowling work in that Sri Lanka innings. Manav Suthar claimed four wickets for 76 runs, while Ravindra Jadeja took three for 57. Jadeja also reached the milestone of 350 Test wickets during the innings.
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At Lunch on Day 4, India's second innings stood at 116 for four, giving them a lead of 294 runs over Sri Lanka. India had begun their second innings at the start of the fourth day's first session, having a first-innings lead of 178 runs.