IPL 2017: Rising Pune Supergiant vs Mumbai Indians, 5 Talking Points

#4 Rahane plays quickest limited overs knock of his career

Rahane opened the batting for RPS and scored a 60 off just 34 balls

Ajinkya Rahane had been Pune’s most consistent batsman in an otherwise shoddy campaign for the Pune team last year. Yet, the Indian middle-order batsman was the one who often took most of the blame from fans of the franchise, for his average strike rate.

Throughout the previous season, Rahane had got the team off to good starts, but a lack of power hitters down the order would pull down the scoring every time. Against Mumbai, Rahane played a blinder that would have taken even the most loyal of his fans by surprise.

With a stiff target of 185 required, RPS required a brisk start from its openers. Relying on pure timing and some newfound fearless power, Rahane played shots all around the park, bringing up his quickest ever innings at an hour of need. Hardik Pandya was targetted and Rahane scored three boundaries in one over of his bowling.

Southee was pulled over deep-square, reminiscent of one similar shot Rahane played against the pacy Pat Cummins in the deciding Test of the recently concluded Test series against Australia. McClenaghan was not spared either. Rahane scored 41 runs in the Powerplay and was eventually dismissed on 60 off 34 balls, ensuring a solid platform for the firepower in the middle-order.