Ajinkya Rahane continued his T20 reinvention with a brutal 98 that took Mumbai to a six-wicket win over Baroda and into the final of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in Bengaluru on Friday. Mumbai bowlers scored at regular intervals while Baroda was restricted to 158 for seven, and Rahane's blistering knock off 56 balls (11×4, 5×6) took his team to 164 for four in 17.2 overs in the first semi-final . Mumbai will face the winner of the second semi-final between Delhi and Madhya Pradesh in the final on Sunday.
Missed the century, but Ajinkya Rahane made it even more memorable
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It was quite remarkable to see Rahane, a classic batsman, play like a T20 thoroughbred as the right-hander brought up his fifty in 29 balls with a huge six over mid-wicket off pacer Hardik Pandya.
Notably, Rahane was bought by Indian Premier League franchise Kolkata Knight Riders for Rs 1.5 crore during the IPL 2025 auction.
After the early departure of Prithvi Shaw (8), who pushed Hardik to Atit Sheth in the circle, Rahane and skipper Shreyas Iyer (46, 30b, 4×4, 3×6) added 78 runs for the second wicket in just nine overs.
The partnership knocked the crap out of Baroda, whose only bright moment came when Hardik received loud cheers from a sizeable crowd at the Chinnaswamy Stadium when he asked the security guards not to beat up three ground invaders.
Rahane was on 98 when Mumbai needed two more runs to win, and pacer Abhimanyu Rajput bowled a wide, perhaps deliberately, as the scores remained level.
The crowd too expressed its displeasure with loud cheers and jeers, but in the next ball, Rahane stepped out attempting a big heave.
But by then he had done his job to perfection.
Earlier, Mumbai bowlers were on the money for the entire innings as they exploited some early movement on a humid day.
Shahswat Rawat (33) and skipper Krunal Pandya (30) could not capitalize on their starts and took wayward shots.
Shivalik Sharma (34 not out, 24 balls) played some solid hits, including a last-ball six, to take Baroda past the 150-run mark, but that wasn't even enough to stretch Mumbai.
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