"My pride and joy" - Ajinkya Rahane's wife shares heartwarming post for him after SMAT 2024-25 final
India cricketer Ajinkya Rahane's wife Radhika Dhopavkar took to social media to share a heartfelt message, honoring the Mumbai batter for his pivotal role in their team's triumph in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) 2024-25 final.
Mumbai played Madhya Pradesh in the summit clash on Sunday, December 15, at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. Batting first, Madhya Pradesh posted 174/8 in their 20 overs, with skipper Rajat Patidar leading the charge, scoring an unbeaten 81 off 40 balls, including six fours and as many sixes.
In reply, Rahane (37) and Suryakumar Yadav (48) led the charge for Mumbai. Toward the end, Atharva Ankolekar (16* off 6) and Suryansh Shedge (36* off 15) starred as Mumbai secured a five-wicket win with 13 balls to spare, clinching their second SMAT title.
Following the match, Radhika took to her Instagram Stories to share a post for Ajinkya Rahane, accompanied by a message that read:
"My pride and joy.”
Meanwhile, Rahane was named the Player of the Tournament, finishing as the top run-scorer with 469 runs from eight innings at an average of 58.62 and a strike rate of 164.56, which included five half-centuries.
Ajinkya Rahane to play for Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2025
Ajinkya Rahane went unsold in the first round of the IPL 2025 mega auction but was eventually picked up by defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for his base price of INR 1.5 crore.
The 36-year-old had represented KKR in the 2022 season, where he struggled, scoring only 133 runs in seven innings. However, this time, the Mumbai batter will aim to turn his fortunes around.
Overall, Rahane has featured in 185 IPL matches, accumulating 4,642 runs, including 30 fifties and two centuries, with the highest score of an unbeaten 105. His best season came in 2012 while playing for the Rajasthan Royals, where he scored 560 runs in 16 matches.