Ajinkya Rahane has turned the heat on with the bat in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024. Rahane slammed 98 runs for Mumbai in his side's semifinal clash against Baroda at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru. While he missed out on a well-deserved hundred, Rahane's knock helped Mumbai chase down a score of 159 with ease.
Rahane's knock included five sixes and 11 fours in his blistering knock. He looked extremely good with his shots and carried the run-chase nearly single-handedly with captain Shreyas Iyer playing an impressive second fiddle with a score of 46 from 30 balls.
Rahane opened up on his knock, saying that his current run is just a change of mindset. "It's just a mindset change. Same intent and don't want to think far too ahead or think about my own result or outcome," he said in the post-match press conference after his team's win over Baroda in Bengaluru.
Rahane has been displaying greater intent in the ongoing tournament. He had made 84 in the quarterfinal against Vidarbha and 95 in the must-win league stage match against Andhra. Rahane highlighted how the format is changing now.
"The way this format is going on throughout the world, we see first six overs are really important. You have to capitalize on those first six overs. If the opener or top three bats well in the first six overs and gets a big score, it becomes really easy after the first six overs," Rahane said.
Rahane's form comes at a good time ahead of IPL 2025 in which he will be playing for the Kolkata Knight Riders. he has been batting at a greater intent than he did in IPL 2023 with the Chennai Super Kings. "Before making my Test debut, I played six seasons of domestic cricket, red ball cricket. And then I made my Test debut. So, it's always about giving back.
"I still love the game. I'm still passionate about the game. And the fire inside me is still alive to represent India. So, it's always about that. I always want to continue doing well for the team. Be it in domestic cricket or if I get a chance in future, in international cricket," Rahane said.
