Mumbai batsman Ajinkya Rahane is relishing the opportunity to play on his home ground but for the opposition.
Rahane, on his debut for Chennai Super Kings, hit the fastest fifty of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 during the ongoing chase against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium on Saturday.
Rahane slammed his 29th fifty in the IPL and brought it up in just 19 balls with seven fours and three sixes.
Rahane came in to bat early after the fall of Devon Conway in the first over and turned the tide in CSK's favour with his swashbuckling innings.
He started attacking from the word go and made MI chase leather with his clean hitting and sometimes-audacious shots.
He was eventually dismissed for 61 off 27 balls by Piyush Chawla in the 8th over but the damage was already done by that time as CSK were crusing at 82 for 2 when the right-hander got out.
This is the first time Rahane got the opporunity to play for CSK after warming the bench in their previous two games. And he made sure to grab the rare chance he got with both hands and let his bat do the talking.
Even the great English captain Kevin Pietersen was in awe of Rahane's knock, which will be remembered by both Chennai and Mumbai cricket fans for a very long time.
"I’ve always loved Ajinkya Rahane’s batting. He’s star quality!" KP tweeted.
CSK restrict MI to 157/8
Rahane's knock came after Chennai Super Kings restricted Mumbai Indians to 157 for 8 in 20 overs after MS Dhoni won the toss and opted to bowl first at the Wankhede Stadium.
MI batters struggled to get momentum in their innings as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals after a solid start.
Ishan Kishan top-scored with 32 while Tim David played a cameo, hitting 31 off 22 balls but the rest failed to make a mark on the match.
Ravindra Jadeja was the pick of CSK bowlers with 3 for 20 while Tushar Deshpande bagged a couple and South African seamer Sisanda Magala took one wicket on his IPL debut.
