IMAGE: Ajinkya Rahane grabbed a quick fifty. {Photography}: Peter Cziborra/Reuters
Veteran Indian batter Ajinkya Rahane led by example with a 32-ball fifty as defending champions Mumbai got off to a successful start, beating Haryana by eight wickets in Syed Mushtaq Ali’s home T20 in Jaipur on Monday.
Batting at No. 3, Rahane slammed three sixes and four boundaries during his unbeaten knock of 76 (43 balls), as Mumbai overhauled Haryana’s score of 148 with 13 balls to spare.
Coming in to bat after Mumbai lost their excellent opener Yashasvi Jaiswal (12) in the second over, Rahane took charge of the run chase and looked comfortable against Yuzvendra Chahal, Harshal Patel and Mohit Sharma.
He raced to his 43rd T20 fifty in the eleventh over with a six off Chahal. He also received an advantageous ally in Shivam Dube who contributed with 26 not out from 20 balls.
Electing to bat, Haryana could not capitalize on their strong start and lost wickets at regular intervals and were restricted to 147/5.
Off-spinner Tanush Kotian (3/19 from three overs) and seamer Mohit Avasthi (2/15 from three overs) did all the harm in the middle.
Gaikwad slams 22 ball 50
Rahane’s Chennai Super Kings teammate Ruturaj Gaikwad was also in full flow in Mohali to guide Maharashtra to a thumping eight-wicket win over Bengal.
Rising from India’s main event to a gold medal at the Hangzhou Asian Games, Gaikwad slammed a 22-ball 50 en route to his 82 (40 balls; 9×4, 5×6) against Bengal.
Skipper Kedar Jadhav took the lead with a 26-ball 40 not out as Maharashtra galloped home with more than five overs to spare.
Opting to bowl, the Kedar Jadhav-led side restricted Bengal to 158/6.
India opener Abhimanyu Easwaran was run out for a golden duck as Bengal got off to a poor start and were reduced to 55/2 after the powerplay.
Explosive all-rounder Shahbaz Ahmed also got away cheaply before skipper Sudip Gharami (44; 34b) and rookie batter Ranjot Khaira (49 not out; 31b) resumed their innings.
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