Ajinkya Rahane pleased despite missing out on hundred

Rajasthan Royals batsman Ajinkya Rahane expressed satisfaction at his match winning 98-run-knock against Kings XI Punjab, despite missing out on ton.

Rahane played a magnificent innings to guide his team to an emphatic 31-run victory in a crucial battle on Friday. He rated this innings as one of his best, saying:

"Yes, I am bit disappointed for missing a hundred but a match-winning 98 is also satisfying. I don’t rate it as my best knock but certainly it is one of the best. My 61 against England was also [an] equally good innings."

Put into bat, the Royals piled up 191 runs in the allotted quota of 20 overs. It was Rahane’s superb knock that steered the side to a commanding position. In reply, the Punjab Kings could only score 160 runs in 20 overs.

On wicket, Rahane said that it was a fine track on which the ball was coming nicely on to the bat. Meanwhile, he thanked Rahul Dravid for his support and motivation in the middle.

He added, "Regarding the wicket, the ball was coming nicely on to the bat and stroke-making was easy. Skipper Rahul Dravid was a source of inspiration. It is proud moment for me to bat with him as he has been my idol,"

"Dravid kept on motivating me from the other end. We have a good understanding and he prompted me to play [the] full 20 overs," said Rahane, who is one of the most successful batsmen in Indian domestic cricket.

On his chances to make it to the Indian side, he described, "IPL is a big platform and performance in it is closely watched in other countries too. I want to give my 100 percent in every match. Jaipur has been lucky for me and I had made a few good scores
here, including a ton in the Irani Trophy. I wish to be more consistent and play long innings."

The 23-year-old made a fine start to his international career, but failed to cement his place. So far in his career, he has played in 11 One Day Internationals, scoring 340 runs at an average of almost 31.

Short URL: https://www.newspakistan.pk/?p=18292

Posted by Rana Nasir Ghafoor on Apr 7 2012. Filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry