A collective gasp went up in the press enclosure when Ajinkya Rahane was dismissed in the second innings of the Adelaide Test on December 9. After all, you don't associate the reverse-sweep in red-ball cricket with India's Test vice-captain.

By then, Rahane had made an energetic 70, a key element in India's 31-run win in the first Test. All series long, the right-hander has looked to impose himself. Three of his four dismissals have come while playing strokes, including a distant square drive in the second innings of the Perth Test when he picked out point.