Rachin Ravindra’s fluent 134 on Friday was his second century in Bengaluru — his second home. But this occasion was more special, with his family, including father Ravi Krishnamurthy, watching from the Chinnaswamy stands.

“Having my dad in the crowd is massive. A lot of family members are watching the game, probably at the stadium and then at home on TV. I know they’re very, very proud and it makes me happy. I know dad and mom would be very, very proud of that,” Rachin, who hit a hundred against Pakistan during last year’s ODI World Cup in Bengaluru, said.

“Me being able to play in their hometown is pretty special. Like I always say, I’m fully Kiwi, 100 per cent Kiwi, but it’s nice to have that Indian heritage base here in Bengaluru.”

Rachin’s grandparents live in Bengaluru.

At full flow during his 157-ball knock against the Indian spinners, Rachin attributed his success to the training stint at the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) academy in early September. “The CSK guys sorted me out and I had four or five days of good training on red-soil and black-soil wickets. So, that helped me shore up game plans.

“It was an invaluable experience. Also, they were a bit more realistic conditions than the doctored, used wickets in New Zealand, which wouldn’t serve the same purpose,” 24-year-old Rachin added.