Who is Ajinkya Rahane?
Rajasthan Royals batsman Ajinkya Rahane smashed 98 off 66 balls with the help of 16 boundaries and a six at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium in Jaipur to lift his side to a huge total of 191/4 in 20 overs.
A team that looked weak on paper set the Kings XI Punjab a huge target in the IPL match at Jaipur on Friday, and that courtesy one man. Rajasthan Royals batsman Ajinkya Rahane smashed 98 off 66 balls with the help of 16 boundaries and a six at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium in Jaipur to lift his side to a huge total of 191/4 in 20 overs.
Although he dons the Royals blue jersey in the IPL, Rahane plays domestic cricket for Mumbai and is one of only 11 players to have scored 1000 runs in a single Ranji season.
He is a top-order Mumbai batsman who is quite comfortable opening the innings. He in fact has played as an opener for India in the limited chances he has got in the national team. He made his India debut in an ODI against England during the team's disastrous tour there last year. Even though Team India had an abysmal outing in England, Rahane impressed with his clam and mature batting there.
Rahane has scored 340 runs in 11 ODIs with a highest score of 91 and a strike-rate of over 75 for India. He has also played two T20 internationals where he has made 61 runs with a highest of 42.