Ajinkya Rahane gave Kolkata Knight Riders exactly the kind of opening statement captains dream of, carving out 67 off 40 balls against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede and, in the process, registering the highest score by a KKR captain against MI in IPL history. The innings came at a strike rate of 167.50, included four fours and six sixes, and pushed past Gautam Gambhir’s previous KKR captain's high of 64 against Mumbai from 2016. Kevin Pietersen’s reaction on X was brief but telling: “I’ve always loved watching Jinks Rahane bat.”
It was the kind of post that fit the knock. Rahane did not merely score quickly; he scored with the sort of control and timing that has long defined how other cricketers see him.
Rahane sets the tone for KKR
KKR had arrived for their IPL 2026 opener with questions around balance and injuries, but their captain answered early by taking Trent Boult on in the first over and then putting Hardik Pandya under pressure with a 26-run fourth over. By the end of the powerplay, KKR had raced to 78/1 - their highest powerplay total against Mumbai in IPL history - with Rahane central to the surge.
The innings mattered for more than just aesthetics. Rahane was setting the tempo against an attack that still had Jasprit Bumrah and Boult in it, and he was doing so without losing shape or control. That balance between fluency and authority was what made the knock stand out.
{{/usCountry}}The innings mattered for more than just aesthetics. Rahane was setting the tempo against an attack that still had Jasprit Bumrah and Boult in it, and he was doing so without losing shape or control. That balance between fluency and authority was what made the knock stand out.
{{/usCountry}}Why Pietersen’s praise carried weight
What added another layer to the innings was the wider conversation around Bumrah’s stature in T20 cricket. During the broadcast, Pietersen pointed to Karun Nair’s 89 off 40 for the Delhi Capitals against the Mumbai Indians last season as a rare recent example of a batter truly dominating Bumrah. He said - “Only one player, I have seen dominate Bumrah like this was, Karun Nair in last year's IPL”. To which a fellow commentator then added a humorous line after this - "He should have made a documentary for himself, Karun Nair", having produced something memorable enough to preserve for posterity, taking a dig at Pakistan's Sahibzada Farhan, who reportedly had a documentary made after he hit sixes against Bumrah in the Asia Cup 2025.
That exchange mattered because it underlined the standard Bumrah sets in this format. Batters do not usually get to dictate terms to him for long. So when Rahane produced an innings of this quality against Mumbai, Pietersen’s social media praise landed as more than a passing compliment.
Rahane has often had to deal with assumptions about whether he can keep up with modern T20 tempo. On this night, he answered that in the cleanest possible way. He made history as a KKR captain against the Mumbai Indians, did it with style, and earned praise from one of the game’s most expressive voices in the process.