How Rachin Ravindra got massive help from Bengaluru and Chennai to plunge India into misery with a magnificent century

Last November, as he made his way into the record books, he was greeted by chants of “Ra-chin, Raa-chin” at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. Rachin Ravindra, who hails from Wellington but has roots in Bengaluru, where his parents are from, tore Pakistan apart in a World Cup match en route to becoming the first New Zealander to win three in a single edition of over-50 cricket's showpiece tournament Centuries achieved.

It is a chant that until then was reserved exclusively for one of the two greatest Indian cricketers of all time, after whom he was named. “Sa-chin, Saa-chin” echoed from the stands of every venue in India and many other parts of the world for almost a quarter of a century that Sachin Tendulkar entertained and thrilled cricket fans. Ravindra must have been delighted that it had come to a point where the other legend he was named after, Rahul Dravid, had cut his teeth as a cricketer.

If the applause at Chinnaswamy on Friday when Ravindra scored his second Test century was not so uninhibited, it was only because India were at the end of their whip. But there was admiration, and not the grudging kind, from a large audience who immersed themselves in his wondrous strokeplay against pace and spin alike.

His father Ravi Krishnamurthy and grandparents watched proudly as Ravindra glittered and sizzled. By his own admission, Ravindra is a proud New Zealander, although he is aware of and grateful for his ties to India and Bengaluru. But it must have been special for him to reach a coveted milestone in a city from which his parents came and which had accepted him as its own without reservation.

Five-and-a-half years ago, Ravindra was sitting in a pub on MG Road, not far from Chinnaswamy, despondent as England won the 2019 World Cup without beating New Zealand in the final at Lord's. He could hardly have imagined then that he would make history in the next edition of the same competition or that he would gradually rise from No. 7 to No. 4 in the batting order and make himself an important part of the team when he did wasn't there yet 24.

Ravindra's first Test cricket meeting in India came in November 2021 when he and Ajaz Patel thwarted India's attempt to win in Kanpur by playing almost nine overs when they were the last pair at the crease. In the next Test in Mumbai, Ravindra took the catch that heralded the dismissal of Mohammed Siraj and made Patel the third bowler in the game's history to take all ten wickets in an innings. Given this sequence, it is probably little surprise that he was the first Kiwi to reach three figures on this tour, or that he fused the toughness and courage of a Kiwi with the oriental dexterity of the subcontinent to write a most endearing script.

The CSK presents the success of Rachin Ravindra

Before this Test series, Ravindra spent time at the Chennai Super Kings Academy, mainly working on his game against spin. R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav were the main threats for New Zealand; Ravindra systematically dismantled the trio, using his feet brilliantly to dance down the lane or dropping deep to play powerfully and confidently from the back foot.

Not many non-Asian teams are capable of countering the Indian leaders. This New Zealand site is cut from a different cloth. Devon Conway and Daryl Mitchell both showed excellent footwork but Ravindra was the winner. He used his height to a great advantage and showed a masterclass in the art of reaching the ball and fighting his way out of the equation. He was also confident against Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah, picking up the ball from the off-stump and flicking it through mid-wicket when it was thrown up, or going straight back and flicking his wrist through the same area when it was shorter.

He had a few close chances, but that may not be more than he deserved considering the free spirit he brought to the middle. What was particularly impressive was the speed at which he scored without making any obvious effort to increase the pace. The boundaries came quickly enough to make the time he spent in the middle count in the form of runs, and his ability to change gears since Tim Southee ended up at number 9 after a mini-collapse showed a maturity , which was far beyond his age and experience.

Ravindra couldn't have asked for a better start to the series. With Pune and Mumbai coming up, he will be convinced that there are no limits anymore. Perhaps it will also elicit cries of “Ra-chin, Raa-chin” at Wankhede next month. Wouldn't that be something?