IPL 2019: At 'home', Ajinkya Rahane finds old self

Perhaps, it was the sweet comfort of home, the feeling of playing in your own backyard. Perhaps, it was the sense of timing, with Team India's World Cup-squad to be announced on Monday.

Whatever the reason might be, Rajasthan Royals captain Ajinkya Rahane played his best knock of the IPL season so far, a 21-ball 37 that was more about the quality of runs than the quantity.

Batting with a meager strike rate of 127 in the previous six matches, Rahane resembled a man with a cluttered mind — his natural playing style chained with a feeling of responsibility, his head burdened with the challenges of leadership.

On Saturday, walking out in pursuit of a 188-run target on a ground he calls home, Rahane played with the kind of freedom that has been missing from his game for a while now.

He was helped by a dropped catch and a DRS review in the first over but after that, Rahane provided glimpses of his old self, finding the gaps and the middle of his bat with aplomb on a flat Wankhede deck he'd know too well.

It was in full show in the fifth over bowled by Alzarri Joseph, where Rahane caressed one through covers for four, slapped a maximum over midwicket and upper-cut a short ball directed at his body above the wicketkeeper's head.

The 30-year-old might have slog-swept his way back to the pavilion soon after, but his knock got his team off the blocks in the chase, and got the monkey off his back as far as expressing himself with the bat is concerned.

"When you have the target of 180-plus, you need to bat freely and take the advantage of the powerplay," fellow Mumbaikar and RR medium pacer Dhawal Kulkarni said of Rahane after the match. "I feel that's what he (Rahane) did. His intent was right from ball one and I feel that's a big positive for us."

The knock might be too little and too late with regards to Rahane making a backdoor entry into India's UK-bound World Cup group. Yet, there's never really a bad time to remind everyone of your days of yore.