Rahane happy with batting even though he’s not scoring big
MUMBAI:He might not be scoring big runs in the ongoing IPL, but Rising Pune Supergiant opener Ajinkya Rahane is a contented man as long as his contributions are bringing out positive results for his side.
Rahane so far has hit just one fifty (60 off 48 balls) in the ongoing IPL and that too came in the lung opener against Sunrisers Hyderabad on April 5.
Thereafter, Rahane’s bat went silent but the right-hander said he is satisfied with his personal form.
WINNING MORE IMPORTANT
“I am happy the way I am batting at the moment. It is important to spend time in the middle. Right now the way I am middling and timing the ball, I am really happy. As long as we are winning matches I am happy because that is important,” Rahane said.
“Switching from Test to T20 format is about mental adjustment and I did that completely well,” he said.
Rising Pune Supergiant last night halted Mumbai Indians’ winning streak by clinching a three-run win in a thriller on Monday.
UNADKAT’S SLOWER BALLS WORKED
Rahane said giving the final over to Unadkat instead of Shardul Thakur worked. “After the 19th over, when (Steve) Smith, I and Mahi bhai (Mahendra Singh Dhoni) were discussing who should bowl between Shardul and Jaydev (Unadkat), we picked up Jaydev. Shardul has good pace and we didn’t want to give batsman the pace in the last over. Jaydev’s pace is comparatively less and his slower ball is effective. The wicket was also little slow and Rohit (Sharma) was a set batsman, so our point was not to give them pace. “One side of the ground is small and one or two shots in the last over (could have made the difference). That was the planning in the last over.”
BACK YOUR HIGHS
Terming Tuesday’s win and the one against Royal Challengers Bangalore as big, Rahane said that each bowler has different stock balls. “It is not easy to bowl yorkers, everyone has different bowling style. Ben Strokes’ stock ball is the yorker, which you saw in the 19th over. That over was important for us. Jaydev’s (Unadkat) strength is slower ball. Every bowler has different plan,” he signed off.