Captain Ajinkya Rahane produced an innings that was more of a statement, which laid the foundation for Kolkata Knight Riders’ formidable total of 220/4 in their opener against Mumbai Indians (MI) at the Wankhede on Sunday.
Not too many occasions does one come across a Rahane innings where the number of maximums outnumber the boundaries. His 40-ball 67 against an almost-India bowling attack featuring the likes of Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya included five maximums compared to three boundaries, with his quick running between the wickets and ability to take the ones and twos when not getting the big strokes standing out once again.
Former captain Rohit Sharma, too, came up with a fitting reply as he raced to a 23-ball 51, leading MI to 80/0 in six overs. Giving Rohit company was Ryan Rickelton (28 batting off 13 balls). Unfortunately for the Knights, Rahane had left the field after the fourth over, owing to cramps.
Given the nature of the Wankhede pitch, which again was a belter, Rahane would certainly have wished for more runs. Still, this innings from the skipper, characterised by exquisite timing and placement, is a retort to those critics who had questioned his place in the team after last year’s disappointment.
The strokeplay of the in-form Finn Allen (37 off 17 balls) made matters easier for the Knight Riders captain. The New Zealand opener was severe particularly on MI captain Hardik Pandya and Afghanistan spinner Allah Ghazanfar.
Shardul spell
Shardul Thakur proved he still has that ability to pick up wickets when his team needed him to. All that the Mumbai all-rounder did was take pace off the ball, and that was good enough to earn him the vital scalps of Allen, Knights’ costliest player Cameron Green and Rahane.
Shardul (3/39) did get a bit of a stick from Angkrish Raghuvanshi (51 off 29 balls), but conceding only 25 off his first three overs was key to restricting the Knights’ run flow in the middle overs. The Knights managed only 100 off the next half of their innings after romping to 120/2 in 10 overs.
Raghuvanshi, going in at No.4, had managed only 21 off his first 16 balls. Bumrah’s dot balls at the death also denied the Knights extra 20 runs or so.