Ajinkya Rahane There are no explosives behind the microphone. That all changed on Thursday, when the Kolkata Knight Riders skipper addressed the media after their 65-run defeat by Sunrisers Hyderabad in Juru. IPL 2026.He was asked about his early partnership with Finn Allen and the anchor-aggressive role between them. The ‘noise’ around their strike rate was further investigated, particularly against spin.
Rahane, who scored just 8 runs off 10 balls, did not back down as KKR suffered their second straight loss of the season.“I think I have one of the best strike rates since 2023,” He said. “Those who are talking about me are probably not watching the game or have a special agenda against me. They don’t like to play me. They don’t like to see me play.”“As much success as I’ve had, I guess they’re jealous of me. I’m not too worried. You guys know what I’m doing. Just one bad innings… It wasn’t a bad innings, but my intention was in it. Sometimes as a batsman, you don’t get that rhythm, you don’t get that flow. People who are talking, either they think I want to play a different game”. Innings“They didn’t expect Ajinkya Rahane to basically prove his game that much. So I’m happy that they’re talking about me, negative or positive, in any way. I’m really happy that they’re talking. Let them talk.”
KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane played his 200th IPL game against SRH. (ANI)
Against SRH, Rahane scored just eight runs off nine balls, before leading the way on a slower delivery from Jaydev Unaddict. During their short stay, they struggled to find space in the powerplay overs, facing the spin of Harsh Dubey and Abhishek Sharma. The trick seemed to be to keep the seamers away from release – something the right-hander excels against.Is Ajinkya Rahane’s strike rate strong from IPL 2023?
| Matches | Innings | runs | Average | Strike rate | 4s | 6s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 42 | 37 | 1033 | 29.51 | 147.48 | 86 | 48 |
Rahane’s claim of having “one of the best strike rates since 2023” doesn’t hold up.Overall, he ranks 88th in the list based on strike rate since IPL 2023. During this period, he played 42 matches, scoring 1033 runs, averaging 29.51 and a strike rate of 147.78.Go deeper, and based on players who have faced at least 50 balls, he is 64th in the list of IPL batsmen, with Vibhu Suryavanshi topping the chart with a strike rate of 218.70.If you look at those who stayed in the middle for 250 balls or more, Rahane is 44th on the list. Abhishek Sharma tops the list with a strike rate of 185.23.Among the top four batsmen who have played at least 250 balls, Rahane is ranked 28th. Nicholas Pooran tops the list with a strike rate of 191.60.A look at Rahane’s numbers in the powerplay makes things look better for him. In the last three seasons, his strike rate during the power play is 168.80.Batsman with best strike rate (at least 300 balls faced) after IPL 2023
| the player | The inn | runs | Balls faced | Strike rate | Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Travis Head | 29 | 720 | 383 | 187.98 | 48 |
| Abhishek Sharma | 39 | 761 | 431 | 176.56 | 34.59 |
| Full salt | 33 | 730 | 420 | 173.80 | 36.50 |
| Ajinkya Rahane | 31 | 552 | 329 | 167.78 | 69 |
| Yeshsavi Jaiswal | 44 | 1029 | 617 | 166.77 | 54.15 |
Among players who have faced at least 300 balls since IPL 2023, his strike rate (167.78) during powerplay overs is the fourth best. The list is led by Travis Head (187.98).Among Indians, only Abhishek Sharma has a better strike rate during that period (176.56).Against fast bowlers with the new ball (effectively powerplay overs), Rahane has a strike rate of 170.79 but the challenge, as demonstrated against SRH, is the spinners with the new ball where his strike rate drops to 140.54. The bigger problem, though, is in the later overs of the Powerplay. Their strike rates during the two middle overs reached 127.27 and 115.58 respectively. Overall, it stands at 129.30.Against spin in the middle overs (7-15 overs), his strike rate dropped further to 114.02.KKR now have back-to-back home games next week, against Punjab Kings and Lucknow Supergiants on April 6 and April 9 respectively, where they will be hoping to get their first win of the season.
