Friday Fights | The Big ODI Fight - Ajinkya Rahane vs Vinod Kambli

Friday Fights | The Big ODI Fight - Ajinkya Rahane vs Vinod Kambli

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The Big ODI Fight - Ajinkya Rahane vs Vinod Kambli

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SportsCafe

Two Mumbaikars go up head-to-head in this week’s Friday Fights as both of them started out as talented youngsters on the Indian circuit and one thing that links both of them - the influence of Sachin Tendulkar. However, in this bout, there will be none as they fight for the title of Mumbai talent.

We have had some big names on the circuit thus far, none greater than the two today in Mumbai in terms of being called ‘talented.’ While one’s ODI career fizzed away in the early 2000s, the other is right about the corner of going through the same patch. With no ODI appearance for the Indian team since 2018, only time will tell if he is going to return to the fore. 

However, away from those issues, we line up the duo to fight against each other in a battle of statistics, with only one winner! Don’t we all want to see the fiery Vinod Kambli go head to head against the monk-like Ajinkya Rahane? This is the chance and the fight is right about to begin, so buckle up!

ROUND 1 -> CAREER AVERAGE: ITS RAHANE who lands the opening punch 

Its punch time, the bout has begun in a rather salty fashion as Ajinkya Rahane in insult smashes one to Kambli’s jaw in terms of career average. While Kambli thought his 32.59 was good enough, in front of him stood Rahane’s 35.26 stature, which completely overshadowed him. SO, the first round is out and its the modern-day batsman on top. 

Ajinkya Rahane-10  Vinod Kambli-9 

ROUND 2 -> AVERAGE IN FOREIGN CONDITIONS: VOILA, another Rahane master-class

And, he edges past this round in a rather tense fashion in contrast to the last round, where he lazed a punch straight on Kambli’s aggressive face. This time too it is the monk (not to be confused with the one who sold his Ferrari) taking the yesteryear talent out. Rahane’s 35.87 away from home is marginally better than Kambli’s 35.27

Ajinkya Rahane-10  Vinod Kambli-9 

ROUND 3 -> AVERAGE IN HOME CONDITIONS: Aggressive daddy is back in the hunt

At home, it was always going to be Ajinkya Rahane as the crowd pointed out. What’s happening here? Times have changed and its shocker, who’s on top? By the looks of it, Rahane is down and it is Kambli who gets the sucker-punch in the third round with a huge margin not to downplay. His average in India (41.08) is staggering compared to his counterparts’ meagre 34. 

Ajinkya Rahane-8  Vinod Kambli-10

ROUND 4 -> AVERAGE IN NEUTRAL VENUES: Down goes the Kambli parade

And, this time, we are expecting Kambli to knock Rahane down and that is going to be the order of it. Talk about commentator’s curse, we have it right here as the 31-year-old from Khurd knocks down his senior pro with a gigantic margin of 16 runs when it comes to average in neutral venues. 

Ajinkya Rahane-10  Vinod Kambli-7

ROUND 5 -> AVERAGE IN WORLD CUP: And it is RAHANE YET AGAIN !!!!

As the crowd taunts the yesteryear star Kambli by chants of ‘Rehne de,’ it is Rahane in the bout putting on a tough fight, regardless of the age difference. He scythes one right across the Mumbaikar’s face with a difference of nine runs in terms of average in World Cup games. It’s turning out to be a real nail-biter, this one. 

Ajinkya Rahane-10  Vinod Kambli-8

ROUND 6 -> STRIKE RATE: RAHANE MAKES IT THREE-IN-A-ROW

That was fast, this round lasted as much as Kambli’s ODI career and before you knew much about it, it was done. Rahane threw in a jab that did the job, in a rather simplistic manner with a strike-rate of 78.63 and 71.94, which does the job really well. 

Ajinkya Rahane-10  Vinod Kambli-9

ROUND 7-> 50 TO 100 CONVERSIONS (in %): And, HE IS BACK!!!!!

The man, the terminator is back in the battle with that fight-saving last-minute punch. He looked lost till this round before he came back like a zombie in an apocalypse. And, he’s ruined Rahane’s streak too in a rather-convincing fashion with 12.5 and 11.11. 

Ajinkya Rahane-9  Vinod Kambli-10

ROUND 8 -> NUMBER OF FIFTIES IN WINNING CAUSES: CURSE IS REAL!

And, with that round, it is proven that commentator’s curse is real and will always be real for real. So mean real’s in that last sentence, just the way Rahane was really into this round trying to smash Kambli’s head off. He’s scored 14 fifties in comparison to 11 scored by his competitor. 

Ajinkya Rahane-9  Vinod Kambli-10

ROUND 9 -> AVERAGE IN SUCCESSFUL CHASES: ONCE AGAIN, VINOD KAMBLIIII

There’s VINOD KAMBLI and there is ‘Eye of the Tiger,’ song playing in the background. It really has motivated him to bring his ‘A’ fight against Rahane. His average in successful chases is 55.78 compared to Rahane’s 43.27. And, we are starting to get to the climax of this fight yet at the same time, everything seems to be hanging by a thin thread, the lead, the two fighters and the audience. 

Ajinkya Rahane-7  Vinod Kambli-10

ROUND 10 -> STRIKE RATE IN SUCCESSFUL CHASES: Surely, this is not the end!

This just does not seem to get over at the moment, grab your popcorns as they get to the last stage. While one has always been known as an aggressive talent since his teen, the other has been compared next to some of the defensive stalwarts in the Indian dressing room. Yet, the competition between the two was severely close, with Kambli just edging past the newbie Rahane as the difference between the two was just 1.22. 

Ajinkya Rahane-7  Vinod Kambli-10

ROUND 11 -> NUMBER OF HUNDREDS IN WINNING CAUSES: And, Rahane clutches

RAHANE CLUTCHES YET AGAIN !!! He’s back truly in the contest and with one round to go, he surely has put the contest beyond the reach for the Mumbaikar. Two talented souls entered the fight, surely one has sustained himself over a prolonged period of time while the other crashed. And, it’s not even their ODI careers that we are talking about, it is the fight! Rahane’s three stands superior to Kambli’s one. 

Ajinkya Rahane-10  Vinod Kambli-9

FINAL ROUND -> NUMBER OF 50+ SCORES WITH 100+ SR: Who’s at the top? 

The suspense remains as the two enter the last round of this crazy bout. Even in the wildest of dreams, we would not have thought of these two going toe-to-toe in a crazy fight. While some of us assumed it was going to one-sided, depending on which generation you belong to, the fight has lived up to its merit. And, it looks like Kambli has pulled this one back but at what cost? Oh, man we really need the referee to give a result before we go bonkers on this one. By the way, Kambli’s four knocks edge Rahane’s three. 

Ajinkya Rahane-9  Vinod Kambli-10

WINNER BY TECHNICAL KNOCKOUT  -VINOD  AJINKYA RAHANE 

FINAL SCORE: 112-110

And, this is it, the referee has announced it, he’s right about to lift the winner’s hand. The crowd go numb waiting for the result. Oh, wait, there is some confusion and the scorers are waiting on an update. Plenty of drama right here in the suburbs of Mumbai where the fight is happening. We get an update and its RAHANE HAS WON!!!! The delay was due to one of the scorers, who left early to avoid a crowded local-train in Mumbai. Sorry guys!!!

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