'There Was a Stamp on Ajinkya Rahane That he Can’t Bat in T20s'

Playing in his first match of the IPL 2023, seasoned Ajinkya Rahane rolled back the years as he produced a stellar innings for Chennai Super Kings against Mumbai Indians in what is dubbed to be the El Clasico of the T20 tournament. On Saturday night, Rahane belted the second fastest fifty of the ongoing season, finishing with 27-ball 61 that set up CSK’s facile win at the Wankhede Stadium.

Rahane’s stocks in IPL have taken a massive hit in the past three seasons during which he managed a combined 254 in 18 matches. However, at the IPL mini auction, to everyone’s surprise, CSK signed him at his base price of 50 lakh.

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Former CSK cricketer Parthiv Patel recalls that despite Rahane’s earlier success in the IPL, he was being considered as someone who doesn’t have the game to succeed in T20 cricket.

“Throughout the innings it never looked like Rahane was taking risks. He always looked in control. He would be really happy because there was a stamp on him that he can’t bat in T20s. Because in the last two years once he remained unsold and Delhi released him once. So, in that context he would be thrilled with his performance," Rahane said on JioCinema.

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Rahane was quite fluent against MI as he clattered seven fours and smoked three sixes to help CSK recover from an early blow. Eventually, the four-time champions chased down a modest target of 158 with 11 deliveries to spare.

“No one would have expected that the fastest 50 of the IPL would come from Ajinkya Rahane, even though he has the batting ability and bats really well. But, a 50 in 19 balls is something no one would have thought of especially after how he has batted in the last few years. The way he batted against Arshad Khan in that over today where he struck 6, 4, 4,4, 4, we got to see all types of shots from him. If you look at his wagon wheel too you will see he scored all around the park," Patel said.

Another former CSK star Suresh Raina pointed out the deep understanding of the Mumbai pitches behind Rahane’s success.

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“This is the strength of the yellow jersey! As we discussed mid-innings, both Rahane and Ruturaj (Gaiwkad) are players from Mumbai and Maharashtra respectively and understand these pitches very well. So, they used the opportunity very well. This will be a sweet headache for Mahi bhai when Moeen Ali returns to the fold," Raina said.

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