Chennai Super Kings Ajinkya Rahane plays a shot during the match against Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023, at Wankhede Stadium, in Mumbai on Saturday.
| Photo Credit: ANI
Mumbai Indians obviously had the home advantage. But it was Ajinkya Rahane’s return to his hometown that turned out to be decisive during the most sought-after Indian Premier League clash of the season.
Making his debut in Chennai Super Kings colours, Rahane’s sensational 27-ball 61 helped Super Kings cruise to the target of 158 at the Wankhede Stadium here on Saturday.
Rahane’s knock, which saw him register a 19-ball fifty, the fastest of the season, also ensured that Ravindra Jadeja and Mitchell Santner’s effective work with the ball did not go waste.
Stokes, Moeen out
After Ben Stokes and Moeen Ali were ruled out of the game, Super Kings played Rahane at the top of the order.
And the veteran batter had to take guard in the opening over of the chase as Devon Conway played on to Jason Behrendorff off the fourth ball.
Rahane pulled Behrendorff for a six in the third over to begin his innings with a bang.
New mindset
When the Mumbai batter went after rookie left-arm pacer Arshad Khan in the next over, it was clear that he had come with a new mindset and an aggressive approach.
Rahane plundered 23 in that over, virtually closing the door on Mumbai Indians. None of Rahane’s five consecutive boundary hits — a six followed by four fours — was a slog, the last-ball punch past the bowler being the highlight.
After Rahane was caught in the deep off legspinner Piyush Chawla, the in-form Ruturaj Gaikwad came to the party as Super Kings reached the target with 11 balls to spare.
The win was set up by the left-arm spin duo of Jadeja and Santner whose combined figures of 8-0-48-5 ensured that Mumbai Indians couldn’t run away with the game despite the brisk start by Ishan Kishan.
With Moeen unavailable and Deepak Chahar limping off the field after the opening over, the onus was on the experienced spin duo to deliver.
And the pair did it to perfection, with Jadeja playing the star act. He came up with a stunning effort to send back Cameron Green, taking a scorcher off his own bowling.
The team effort shown while taking the catch of Tristan Stubbs reflected Super Kings’ day.
Dwaine Pretorius took the catch at long-off but as he was about to go past the boundary, the South African relayed the ball to Ruturaj. It indeed was a day to cherish for Super Kings.
Brief scores:
Mumbai Indians:
157/8 in 20 overs (Ishan Kishan 32, Tim David 31, Ravindra Jadeja 3/20, Mitchell Santner 2/28).
Chennai Super King:
159/3 in 18.1 overs (Ajinkya Rahane 61, Ruturaj Gaikwad 40 not out).
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