In the 12th match of IPL 2023, Chennai Super Kings defeated Mumbai Indians by seven wickets at their home ground Wankhede Stadium. Batting first, Mumbai scored 157 runs losing eight wickets in 20 overs. In reply, CSK looked in trouble after losing the wicket of Devon Conway (0) in the first over itself. However, after this, Ajinkya Rahane, playing the first match of the season, came on the field and turned the tables. He played a blistering inning of 61 runs in 27 balls. Rahane hit seven fours and three sixes in his innings. He scored his half-century in just 19 balls, which is also the fastest half-century of this season.
What did Rahane Say After the Match?
The 34-year-old Rahane did not get the Player of the Match award, but he again became popular among the fans. However, in the post-match show after the match, Rahane’s pain over not playing the Test and being dropped from the Indian team spilled over. Along with this, he also told the story of being suddenly selected in the Chennai team in this match. Rahane said after the match – there was a lot of fun in this match. I came to know before the toss that Moeen is unwell. Stephen Fleming told me that I am going to play this match. I had a good domestic season. I just try to maintain my shape. Paying attention to timing. Makes you think you are playing a match.
Rahane Out of BCCI’s Central Contract this Year
Rahane said, “IPL is a long tournament and you never know when you will get an opportunity. I always enjoy playing at Wankhede. I have never played any Test here. I want to play test here. The special thing about Mahi Bhai and Fleming is that they give freedom to everyone. Mahi Bhai told me to prepare well. Rahane has also been removed from the annual contract of BCCI recently. He was earlier in Grade-B, but now he is not in this contract. Rahane last played an international match in January 2022 as a Test against South Africa.
International Career of Rahane
After this he was dropped from the team due to poor form. Rahane was then the vice-captain of the team. Under the captaincy of Rahane, Team India won the historic Test series in Australia in 2020/21. He has so far scored 4931 runs in 82 Tests at an average of 38.52, 2962 runs in 90 ODIs at an average of 35.26 and 375 runs in 20 T20s at a strike rate of 113.29. At the same time, Rahane has scored 4135 runs in 159 IPL matches. During this, his average is 31.09 and the strike rate is 121.51. Rahane has also scored two centuries and 29 half-centuries in the IPL.
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What Happened in the Match
Batting first at the Wankhede Stadium, the Mumbai team could manage only 157 runs losing eight wickets in 20 overs. Captain Rohit Sharma 21 runs in 13 balls, Ishaan Kishan 32 runs in 21 balls, Cameron Green 12 runs in 11 balls, Suryakumar Yadav one run, Tilak Verma 22 runs in 18 balls, Arshad Khan two runs, Tristan Stubbs could score five runs. In the end, Tim David scored 31 runs in 22 balls and Hrithik Shokeen scored 18* runs in 13 balls. Ravindra Jadeja took the maximum three wickets from Chennai. At the same time, Tushar Deshpande and Mitchell Santner got two wickets each. Sisanda Magala took one wicket.
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In response, Chennai achieved the target by losing three wickets in 18.1 overs. Devon Conway returned to the pavilion without opening the account. However, after this Ajinkya Rahane played a stormy innings. He got out after scoring 61 runs in 27 balls. Rahane hit seven fours and three sixes in his innings. At the same time, Shivam Dubey played an inning of 28 runs in 26 balls. Rituraj Gaikwad scored 40 runs in 36 balls with the help of two fours and a six and Ambati Rayudu remained unbeaten after scoring 20 runs in 16 balls with the help of three fours. Jason Behrendorff, Piyush Chawla and Kumar Kartikeya got one wicket each for Mumbai.
