‘This is the strength of the yellow jersey!’ – Suresh Raina hails Rahane, Gaikwad for impactful performances against MI

Former Chennai Super Kings (CSK) batter Suresh Raina heaped massive praise on Ajinkya Rahane and Ruturaj Gaikwad for their sensational batting performances against Mumbai Indians (MI). Notably, MI suffered their second straight defeat at the hands of arch-rivals CSK at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Saturday, April 8.

Maharashtra-born batters Rahane and Gaikwad played instrumental knocks during the chase to seal the two points against the five-time winners. Impressively, 34-year-old Rahane clobbered seven boundaries and three maximums to register a 27-ball 61. Gaikwad, on the other hand, continued his purple patch as he remained unbeaten with a delicate 40 off 36 balls, which steered the side to a win.

Cricketer-turned-broadcaster Suresh Raina, currently an expert among the JioCinema panelists, was enthralled with the duo batters putting on a show for CSK. Furthermore, he highlighted that the two used the conditions well, considering they are locals of the place. 

“This is the strength of the yellow jersey! As we discussed mid-innings, both Rahane and Ruturaj are players from Mumbai and Maharashtra, respectively and understand these pitches very well. So, they used the opportunity very well. This will be a sweet headache for Mahi (MS Dhoni) bhai when Moeen Ali returns to the fold,” CSK all-time great Raina expressed.

For the unversed, Rahane hammered his fastest IPL fifty off mere 19 balls and concluded with a score of 61 runs. His blitzkrieg included going on a boundary-hitting spree as he targeted Arshad Khan for 23 runs, getting 6,4,4,4,4,1 in the over.

The catch he took shows how positive a frame of mind he is in: Raina

Notably, star all-rounder, Ravindra Jadeja was adjudged Player of the Match for his impressive 3/20 with the ball. Raina hailed Jadeja for taking a blinder to dismiss Cameron Green in the first innings.

"Jadeja is bringing all his experience into play. The partnership that he has had with Santner looks very strong. The way Jadeja got Tilak Varma out showed that he is bowling with great discipline. Also, the catch he took shows how positive a frame of mind he is in today,” he added.