Ajinkya Rahane: Patience the key to India century

Patience was key to Ajinkya Rahane scoring an impressive 127 against South Africa to help give India control of the fourth Test on Friday.

Rahane ended day one in Delhi on 89 and reached his fifth Test century before India were bowled out for 334, with the Proteas then collapsing to 121 all out thanks in no small part to Ravindra Jadeja's 5-30.

The 27-year-old Rahane's previous high in the series " which the hosts lead 2-0 " was 15, but he revealed the catalyst for his change in fortunes.

"Here I just wanted to take my own time and play as close to my body as possible, wait for loose balls," he said. "Patience was key here. Determination and patience helped me in this innings.

"When I was batting, I just wanted to stay blank and play one ball at a time. I wanted to build partnerships with the other batsmen. It feels really special that I batted with [Ravichandran] Ashwin while getting my hundred.

"In the first two Test matches, I was looking to play shots initially and that's why I got out. I knew I was batting well.

"I spoke to [batting coach] Sanjay Bangar and [team director] Ravi [Shastri] and they said: 'You have just got to take your time initially, play one ball at a time. If you are 25 to 30, your instincts will take over'.

"There was nothing wrong technically or mentally. I was just playing shots close to my body. I was slightly hurrying as I was trying to play my shots straight away."