Ajinkya Rahane continues to make waves. This time by making runs with a straight bat in a T20 contest! He was joined by Kevon Cooper, a little-known medium-pacer from Trinidad and Tobago. They excelled to give Rajasthan Royals a bright start to its Indian Premier League campaign on Friday.
One need not slog to thrive in Twenty20 cricket. Rahane, who missed a century by two runs, demonstrated the skills of plundering runs with clinical execution of shots that would make a Rahul Dravid proud.
Dravid observed and appreciated Rahane from the other end as the two brought quality to Rajasthan's top order and set up the team's 31-run victory.
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It was an ideal setting for Rahane to revel. The Sawai Mansingh Stadium was nearly packed and the pitch was nice and true. The bowlers came to grief as Dravid and Rahane prospered on the strength of correct batting.
The normally parsimonious Praveen Kumar was generous, spraying the ball and yielding to pressure. There was a distinct method to Rahane's domination in the middle and it was an enjoyable treat for the spectators.
Dravid's influence was pronounced too. He allowed his partner to flourish. The beauty lay in Rahane's construction of the innings.
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A typical response from a batsman who knows his strong points and played the role of a professional to perfection. There was not a false shot and coming as it did in a Twenty20 contest, made it all the more worthy.
Innings of maturity
Rated high for his traditional style in first-class cricket, Rahane has explored every possibility to make a mark, succeeding often. “Failures make me wiser,” was his measured approach last season and this knock was a fine example of his maturity. He had his plans in place and shot-selection too.
There was this over from Praveen Kumar that gave early indication of Rahane's excellent form. He took four boundaries off the bowler, but importantly impressed with his range.
All clean strokes, all cricketing shots with no trace of desperation at all. A neat cover-drive warmed him up for an on-drive off the next ball. A glance followed and he signed off with a majestic straight drive.
Two short of century
The evening was all about ‘Man of the Match' Rahane. He missed a century, ironically, to an across-the-line shot, his first and costly deviation from the chosen path. It was a selfless act too because he was a mere two runs away from a deserving century.
He was foxed by the change of pace, but by then he had firmly set the Rajasthan innings on a winning course.
A blistering start by Adam Gilchrist set off some false alarms as Punjab attempted a spirited assault. It was too good to last.
Three strikes by Cooper crippled Punjab's hopes and the result was a foregone conclusion at the halfway stage. Kings XI eventually ended on 160 for nine in 20 overs.
Rajasthan, riding on Rahane's brilliance, was a runaway winner.
SCOREBOARD
Rajasthan Royals: R. Dravid c Faulkner b Harmeet 28 (24b, 3x4), A. Rahane b Faulkner 98 (66b, 16x4, 1x6), A. Menaria b Chawla 0 (3b), B. Hodge b Faulkner 21 (16b, 1x4, 1x6), O. Shah (not out) 14 (8b, 2x4), K. Cooper (not out) 11 (3b, 1x4, 1x6); Extras (lb-8, w-11): 19; Total (for four wkts. in 20 overs): 191.
Fall of wickets: 1-77 (Dravid), 2-87 (Menaria), 3-162 (Hodge), 4-180 (Rahane).
Kings XI bowling: Praveen 4-0-42-0, Faulkner 4-0-41-2, Chawla 4-0-33-1, Bipul Sharma 4-0-28-0, Harmeet 3-0-23-1, Valthaty 1-0-16-0.
Kings XI Punjab: A. Gilchrist c Cooper b Amit Singh 27 (18b, 3x4, 1x6), P. Valthaty c Amit Singh b Cooper 13 (15b, 2x4), S. Marsh c Dravid b Cooper 7 (6b, 1x4), A. Nayar c Goswami b Cooper 10 (10b, 1x6), D. Hussey c Cooper b Trivedi 14 (10b, 1x4), Mandeep b Chavan 34 (25b, 5x4), Bipul Sharma c Rahane b Chavan 18 (13b, 2x4), P. Chawla b Cooper 10 (8b, 1x6), J. Faulkner (not out) 11 (9b), Praveen (run out) 10 (6b, 1x6), Harmeet (not out)1 (1b); Extras (lb-4, w-1, nb-1):6; Total (for nine wkts. in 20 overs): 160.
Fall of wickets: 1-36 (Gilchrist), 2-44 (Valthaty), 3-55 (Marsh), 4-61 (Nayar), 5-87 (Hussey), 6-123 (Bipul Sharma), 7-127 (Mandeep), 8-143 (Chawla), 9-155 (Praveen).
Royals bowling: Trivedi 4-0-32-1, Botha 4-0-36-0, Amit Singh 4-0-26-1, Cooper 4-0-25-4, Hodge 1-0-8-0, Chavan 3-0-28-2.
Man-of-the-match: A. Rahane.