How Ajinkya Rahane became an intimidating ball striker

Ajinkya Rahane in the Ind T20 League is a four hitter. 

He’s number 8 on the all-time list with 449. He achieved 73 of them in 2012.  Again that puts him in a distinguished list. Only six players have had a better record in a single season. 

But fours in the shortest format are like the girlfriend in that meme. Everybody’s eyes are laid to the other lady in the red dress. Sixes. 

And, Rahane, on Sunday played a jaw dropping knock for Chennai against Kolkata. 

One of India’s most orthodox batsmen blessed with a watertight technique and impeccable timing bred in the celebrated maidans of Mumbai where they don’t make you go through the textbooks as much as shoot it straight into your vein, casually moved across his stumps and nonchalantly scooped Umesh Yadav out of Eden Gardens. 

This has been the notable difference between Rahane of the past and this totally dashing version. He is hitting a six, once every 9.54 balls on an average in this edition of the Ind T20 League. Going by this count, he’s three times the player he used to be. His previous best was 31.67 balls per six in 2019. Now he’s right up with the very best hitters in the tournament. 

This is a player who has levelled up. He hasn’t disintegrated his game down to find new gears. He has just augmented strengths that had been there all along. 

Rahane has always shown promising signs against pace, but this year, he has drastically improved his strike rate (254.16). That’s the best of anyone who has faced at least 18 balls from the style of bowler in this competition. 

Chennai skipper MS Dhoni once spoke about Rahane’s limitations as a one day batter. About how his strike rate drops down when the field spreads out and the ball loses its hardness. All of Rahane’s 71 runs in 29 balls came after the powerplay on Sunday night. Despite five men on the fence, he managed to hit six fours and five sixes. He copped to having a little assist there. “Small outfield”, he told the broadcasters while bagging his first Player of the Match award in the Indian T20 League since 2016. “"One side was really small [because they weren't playing on the centre wicket]."

Kolkata had mustered to put three good overs together. The 10th, 11th and 12th overs produced only 5, 7 and 8 runs respectively. This is the time they removed all the pace off the ball and stifled opposition batters with their mystery spinners. Suyash Sharma was the one who led this slowdown and his good work resulted in the prized wicket of Devon Conway in the 13th over. 

But Conway’s departure probably worked in Chennai’s favour as it brought Shivam Dube to the crease and he negated the spin threat. He was looking menacing so Kolkata went to their frontline speedster. Umesh came on to bowl the 14th over and Rahane, who was 19 off 14 at that time, thumped him for 6,6,4.

The audacious scoop was part of this sequence and it was exciting to watch, but really, Rahane’s good work in this Ind T20 League has come as an outcome of his perfecting his best shots. The cover drive. The flick. The hook and pull. In the last three years, he had a strike rate of 127.08 playing the same shots. This year it has grown rapidly up to 240.00. 

Rahane has enhanced his T20 game to never-before-seen levels. And all he really had to do is break free. Everytime he has walked into bat for Chennai this year, he has looked for boundaries. Moreover, he has gone out trying to play a big shot. He wasn’t pleased with 61 off 27 on a flat Wankhade wicket. He was raring to go for more. 

That appetite and willingness to take the extra risk fused with range hitting- has transformed a sheet anchor into one this season’s fiercest hitters. He even flourished at the death. 

In 153 innings, Rahane has only been around during the slog overs on 32 occasions. He was just not that kind of player. He would usually slow down after the powerplay, go for a big shot to increase his strike rate and make up for the dot balls, but instead get out. Here, he was the match’s highest scorer in this phase, facing only nine balls, smashing six of them to the boundary and gathering 33 runs. 

So, how did all of this happen? First and foremost, Rahane has attempted to approach each match as objectively as possible. "I always believe the most important thing is what's between your ears," he said. "If your mind is right, you can do anything. So I just wanted to keep my mind really clear before the season. Process was really good. Our preparations before the season were really good. So I'm just trying to enjoy the game and keep my mind clear."

And then role clarity. "When you realise the potential of someone, you let him bat the way he bats," Dhoni said. "The moment you start putting too much pressure on him, it doesn't work. Give that liberty and just reiterate as to these are the areas where you're strong in. Whatever your strength is, be positive, enjoy it. And I feel it always works out in the best possible manner. Second thing is trying to put him in the best position where he can score runs."

A fusion of all this has resulted in Rahane aggregating 209 runs this season, at an average of 52.25 and a strike rate of 199.04, and the amusing this is he feels “my best is yet to come".