Ravichandran Ashwin is known for using brilliant tactics on the field and he did something similar against Ajinkya Rahane as he aborted from delivering the ball to see which shot he’s eyeing to play. However, Rahane gave Ashwin the taste of his own medicine as he moved away when the spinner was eventually ready to bowl.
Ajinkya Rahane who showed brilliant form in the game against Mumbai Indians started playing his shots right from the word go in the CSK vs RR IPL 2023 game. Ravichandran Ashwin knew it was important to read Ajinkya Rahane’s mind in order to restrict him from scoring freely.
Ashwin & Rahane get involved in on-field banter, Chepauk crowd cheers for Rahane
Ravichandran Ashwin came in to bowl the final over of the power play for the Rajasthan Royals. He started off with a tossed-up delivery against Rahane who played a comfortable lofted shot and grabbed a couple which made Ashwin think before delivering the second delivery.
Ashwin started off from his bowling mark and stopped himself right when he was about to bowl. Devon Conway was clearly inside his crease at the non-striker’s end which made it pretty clear that the premier spinner wasn’t looking for a run-out and was actually trying to see what Rahane was doing.
Interestingly, giving Ashwin a taste of his own medicine, Ajinkya Rahane then did the unthinkable at the Chepauk. When Ashwin was actually about to bowl the second delivery, Rahane cleverly moved away which further postponed the second delivery of Ashwin’s over.
— Cricket Punter (@ImRahulCSK11) April 13, 2023
The Chepauk crowd was in full support of Rahane despite Ashwin being a local boy. CSK batter’s epic response to Ashwin for playing mind games with him received a loud cheer from the CSK fans at the packed Chepauk Stadium.
While Ashwin was eventually successful in bowling a dot delivery after all the drama, it was Rahane who had the last laugh as he smoked a fabulous six over the extra cover boundary on the third delivery of Ashwin’s over and eventually played a crucial knock of 31 runs off just 19 deliveries.
Ajinkya Rahane did look in supreme form but didn’t get support from other top-order batters as Rajasthan Royals’ spinners kept dominating the CSK batting lineup. The Sanju Samson-led side successfully defended their total of 175-8 as CSK fell short by 3 runs despite some excellent hitting from skipper MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja.