Until IPL 2023, Ajinkya Rahane's strike rate in the powerplay in T20s was 115.31. In 23 such innings since then, it has jumped up to 156.83. Rahane believes it was the freedom to go out and express himself, allowed to him by his former IPL franchise Chennai Super Kings (CSK), which helped unlock his potential in the shortest format.
"The message from them was clear: go out there and play your natural game," Rahane said after smashing 98 off 56 balls against Baroda to put Mumbai in the final of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT). "It was never about, 'You play an anchor role and others will play around you'. [From] other teams, the message for me was, 'Play till 15-16 overs and others will play around you'. That's why I was playing with a strike rate of 120-130. But the last two years have really helped me a lot in the shorter format."
That simple message from CSK seems to have worked its magic beyond IPL 2023 too. Rahane had finished that tournament with a strike rate of 172.48, and at the SMAT this season, he has 432 runs - the most among all batters - at 169.41.
Rahane has had that impact even while mostly playing conventional shots, like effortlessly lofting over the in-field on both sides of the ground, or powerfully pulling the short balls away.
Before today's 98, he had crashed 95 off 54 balls against Andhra in a SMAT record chase of 230 and followed that up with 84 from 45 deliveries against Vidarbha in the quarter-final in another massive chase of 222. He showed his range of shots in the latter innings, which also featured a six to remember, the ball flying over fine leg off medium-pacer Darshan Nalkande as Rahane stayed deep in the crease and played a pick-up shot in Suryakumar-Yadav fashion.
After three Player-of-the-Match performances in a row, Rahane says he wants to "keep it simple". "I'm not too strong, [and] it's not about power hitting," he said. "For me, it's always about timing the ball. But at the same time, having that intent from ball number one. And it's always about the extension of my defence - all the shots. So I'm just focusing on that.
"[I'm] not trying to play too hard or, trying to play a big shot. It's always about the timing of the ball, and maintaining my shape all the time."
Against Baroda, chasing 159, Rahane started the second over by dispatching the first three balls he faced for 4, 6, 4, the first of those a non-Rahane-like heave across the line to deep square leg. Perhaps an attempt to put the bowler under pressure straightaway?
"I knew how Lukman Meriwala was going to bowl. So I wanted him to change his length," Rahane said. "So that's why the intent was to, first ball, go and attack him so that he could change his length. And the next two balls, he actually pitched short. So that's what I wanted."
Meriwala went short, and Rahane hooked for six and punched for four. And so his "fearless attitude" helped set up Mumbai for another shot at the SMAT title, a title they had won under Rahane in 2022-23. If he can continue this same form, not only Mumbai but IPL's defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders, who bagged Rahane at his base price of INR 1.5 crore at last month's auction, will be that much harder to beat.