Ajinkya Rahane, the newly recruited CSK champ, shines in the first game of Syed Mushtaq Ali’s trophy to procure an opening day win for Mumbai in the T20 tournament.
Rahane played the best inning of the match and remained unbeaten at 76 off 43 to ensure that his team got over the line in the rain-marred game.
Haryana, who won the toss, forced Mumbai to take a field. Batting first, the Haryana team, led by Himanshu Rana, had a strong start. They managed to score 50 runs in the powerplay without losing a wicket.
However, the rain-marred the game, and despite a positive start, they were only able to put on a total of 147 runs in their 18 overs. As a result, Mumbai were faced with the challenge of chasing down 149 (by DWL Method) in their 18 overs.
Rahane scores 76 against Haryana in SMAT opener
The target that seems to be easier on paper wasn’t easier at all on the pitch, especially against the bowling lineup of Haryana, which had the likes of Mohit Sharma, Harshal Patel, and Yuzvendra Chahal.
Mumbai lost its very first wicket in the second over in the form of Yashasvi Jaiswal. The player could only muster 12 runs off 8 balls with 3 boundaries to his name before Anshul Kambhoj departed him.
This brought the captain, Ajinkya Rahane, onto the field. He started off with a four against Mohit Sharma, but was cautious in his approach, as his first intention was to steady the ship.
In his inning, he smashed 6 fours and 3 sixes in total and batted at a strike rate of 176 to help his side over the line in just 15.5 overs.
Rahane will be confident after this knock and look forward to maintaining his performance in the coming matches.
