New KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane started his captaincy reign with a briskly paced 56 off 30 balls comprising 6 fours and 4 sixes. Ajinkya Rahane’s role in the team was one of the biggest question marks leading to the season. Can he replicate Phil Salt’s role as an opener? How can he fit himself in the KKR middle order with his waning hitting power and inability to score freely in the middle overs? Rahane answered all the critics in stunning fashion, just like he proved his doubters wrong in the 2023 season with CSK.
Rahane took just 4 balls to get going in the 4th over of the innings. KKR had a very sedate start in the powerplay with Narine struggling to get going. They scored only 9 runs in the first 3 overs and also lost the wicket of new opener Quinton de Kock. RCB made a tactical error by bringing Rasikh Salam to bowl the 4th over. Yash Dayal conceded just one run in the 2nd over and was taken out of the attack.
Rahane smashed 16 runs in Rasikh Dar’s 1st over, the highlight being the 92 metre hit over the cow corner. Rajat Patidar introduced Krunal Pandya’s spin to keep things tight, but to no avail. Rahane smashed two more fours off Krunal. Yash Dayal too got smashed for 20 runs in the final over of the powerplay. With a blink of an eye, KKR raced from 9/1 after 3 overs to 60/1 by the end of the powerplay, prompting Patidar to take the timeout at the first available opportunity.
Fifty off just 25 balls
Rahane duly reached his fifty off just 25 balls in the 9th over, smashing leg spinner Suyash Sharma for a six over mid wicket.
Rahane resurrected his IPL career and won his maiden title in 2023 with CSK. The 2024 season didn’t go as per plan, either to CSK or to Rahane himself. Rahane’s fifty against RCB was his first after 18 IPL innings. Can he continue to deliver like the way he did in 2023? It’s something one has to wait and watch. But for the time-being, he has delivered a timely warning to his doubters.
