Ajinkya Rahane’s half-century powers Rising Pune Supergiants to 160 against Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 9

Despite the dodgy display by the other RPS batsmen, Ajinkya Rahane picked his gaps and kept the scoreboard ticking.

Anjinkya Rahane’s 52-ball 67 helps Rising Pune Supergiants (RPS) post 160 against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in Match 20 of IPL 9. KKR captain Gautam Gambhir won the toss and elected to bowl. Given most teams won the match chasing a target, this was a good toss to win. Morne Morkel and Andre Russel started the proceedings by bowling in the right channel and kept RPS batsmen on the back foot. However, Ajinkya Rahane took Morkel to the cleaners and plundered a six and four in the 3rd over. Looking RPS take the charge, Gambhir introduced Shakib Al Hasan in the 4th over. Rahane welcomed him with a brilliant whip past long on. However, Gabhir’s decision paid off, as Shakib knocked over Faf du Plessis with a peach of a delivery. FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: Rising Pune Supergiants vs Kolkata Knight Riders, IPL 2016, Match 20 at Pune

As Kevin Peitersen was ruled out due to calf injury, Steven Smith was promoted at No. 3. The Pune curater dished out a spinning track. Shakib, along with Sunil Narine and Piyush Chawla, tossed the ball up and contained the onslaught. Though Rahane kept the scoreboard ticking with his elegant strokes, RPS was 61 for 1 after 10 overs.

R Sathish broke the 56-run stand, as Smith was run out for the second consecutive time in IPL 9. The onus was then on Thisara Perera to use his long handle to destructive effect and scale up the run rate. He scythed a maximum over deep mid-wicket before he was castled by Sathish in the same over. However, despite the dodgy display by the RPS batsmen, Rahane picked his gaps and kept on piling the runs. FULL CRICKET UPDATES: Rising Pune Supergiants vs Kolkata Knight Riders, IPL 2016, Match 20 at Pune

While trying to up the ante, Rahane was caught and bowled by the spin genius Narine. MS Dhoni sent Albie Morkel ahead of him to play a quick cameo. Morkel smashed back-to-back colossal sixes and brought the crowd on their feet. It was, then, Dhoni who gave the finishing touches by scoring 23 off just 12 balls.

Rising Pune Supergiants (Ajinkya Rahane 67 (52), MS Dhoni 23* (12); Shakib Al Hasan 1 for 14, Umesh Yadav 1 for 16) vs Kolkata Knight Riders

(Kaustubh S. Mayekar, a reporter at CricketCountry, played cricket at U-16 level. Like his idol Rahul Dravid, he often shadow-practises cricket shots. His Twitter handle is @kaumedy_.)

About the Author