Ajinkya Lahani Not a guy who explodes behind a microphone. Things changed a little on Thursday after the Kolkata Knight Riders captain addressed the media after their 65-run loss to Sunrisers Hyderabad in the ongoing tournament. intense pulsed light 2026.He was asked about his opening partnership with Finn Allen and their anchor attacker role. He further investigated the “outside noise” surrounding his strike rate, particularly in terms of spin.
Rahane scored just 8 from 10 balls as KKR suffered their second consecutive defeat of the season but did not back down.“I think my hitting percentage is one of the best so far since 2023,” he said. “The people who are talking about me may not be watching the game, or they may have a specific agenda against me. They don’t like me playing. They don’t like watching me play. ““The success I’ve had, I guess they’re jealous of me. I’m not too worried. You guys know what I’m doing. Just a bad inning… not a bad inning, but my intention was there. Sometimes as a batsman, you can’t get that rhythm, you can’t get that flow. People who are talking, either they don’t understand the game or I think they want me to bat a different inning.“They didn’t expect Ajinkya Rahane to basically prove the level of his game. So I’m happy that they’re talking about me, whether it’s negative or positive, either way. I’m really happy that they’re talking. Let them talk.”
KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane plays his 200th IPL match against SRH. (Arnie)
Against SRH, Rahane scored just 8 runs off 9 balls before getting past the slower delivery of Jaydev Unadkat. During his brief stay, he struggled to find gaps when he faced the spin of Harsh Dube and Abhishek Sharma in the powerplay. The strategy seems to be to keep the seamer away from Rahane – a right-hander who works better against Rahane.Is Ajinkya Rahane’s strike rate good since IPL 2023?
| matches | bureau | running | average | hit rate | 4 seconds | 6 seconds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 42 | 37 | 1033 | 29.51 | 147.48 | 86 | 48 |
Rahane’s claim to have “one of the best strikeout rates so far in 2023” doesn’t hold up.Overall, he ranks 88th in strike rate since IPL 2023. During this period, he played 42 games and scored 1033 points with an average of 29.51 and a strike rate of 147.78.Going a little deeper, he is ranked 64th in the list of IPL batsmen based on players who have batted at least 50 balls, with Vaibhav Sooryavanshi topping the list with a strike rate of 218.70.If you look at the players who have spent more time in the middle order, 250 balls or more, Rahane ranks 44th in the list. Abhishek Sharma leads the list with a strike rate of 185.23.Among the top four batsmen who have batted at least 250 balls, Rahane ranks 28th. Nicholas Pooran tops the list with a strike rate of 191.60.Looking at Rahane’s numbers on the power play does make his case look better. Over the past three seasons, he has a 168.80 field goal percentage on the power play.Batsman with highest strike rate since IPL 2023 (min. 300 balls faced)
| player | hostel | running | spherical surface | hit rate | average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Travis Hyde | 29 | 720 | Chapter 383 | 187.98 | 48 |
| Abhishek Sharma | 39 | Chapter 761 | Chapter 431 | 176.56 | 34.59 |
| Phil Salter | 33 | Chapter 730 | Chapter 420 | 173.80 | 36.50 |
| Ajinkya Lahani | 31 | Chapter 552 | Chapter 329 | 167.78 | 69 |
| Yashasvi Jaiswal | 44 | 1029 | 617 | 166.77 | 54.15 |
Among players who have faced at least 300 balls since IPL 2023, he has the fourth-highest strike rate in the powerplay (167.78). The list is led by Travis Head (187.98).Among Indians, only Abhishek Sharma has a higher strike rate during this period (176.56).Against the pacers using the new ball (effectively a power play), Rahane’s strike rate dropped to 170.79, but as revealed against SRH, the challenge was against the spinners using the new ball and his strike rate dropped to 140.54. The bigger issue, however, is the rotation after the power play. In the middle two rounds, his hitting percentage dropped sharply to 127.27 and 115.58 respectively. Overall, the index stands at 129.30.Against spin in the middle overs (overs 7-15), his strike rate further dropped to 114.02.KKR will now play back-to-back home games next week against Kings XI Punjab and Lucknow Supergiants on April 6 and April 9 respectively, where they will hope to register their first win of the season.
