Sunil Gavaskar praises Ajinkya Rahane, calls him India's most complete batsman

New Delhi: Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane were exceptional in India's route to 557 runs in first innings of third Test against New Zealand with strokes of 211 and 188 respectively.

While Kohli attracted most of the praise after he became the first Indian cricketer to score two double centuries as captain, Rahane's performance too earned praises from many, including the great Sunil Gavaskar.

In an interview with NDTV, Gavaskar lauded Rahane saying, "Ajinkya Rahane is India's most complete batsman at this stage. Like Virat Kohli, he is never satisfied by what he does. I am sure Virat will acknowledge how important a role Rahane has played for India. When you have the confidence of your captain, you are motivated to do even better."

The Little Master lauded the partnership of Rahane and Kohli after India looked to be in trouble, having lost 3 wickets for 100 runs. From there on, the duo had put on 365 runs together.

Rahane too reflected on his performance by saying, "It was hot out there today. I was struggling yesterday against the short ball and Virat told me to take my time. Today I wanted to dominate after getting the hundred. This partnership will stay in memory for a long time."

"Hard work is part of my routine. Preparations are always important for me. I practised in Mumbai for 5-6 days. I practised on slow wickets as in India they are slow and spin friendly and each track is different. Here for example some balls came slow and some fast," he added.

Gavaskar also thinks that it is almost impossible for New Zealand to make a comeback from here, although a draw is still realistic considering the Indore wicket is a good one to bat on.

At stumps on Day 3, India stand on 18/0 after restricting New Zealand to a total of 299.