Rahane was batting on 97 off 233 balls when he was outdone by a sharp bouncer from Yash Dayal. He took his eyes off the ball at the final moment as the ball kissed his gloves before landing into the gloves of wicket-keeper Yash Dayal. Rahane, who last played for India in July 2023, walked in to bat after Rest of India opted to bowl first and reduced Mumbai to 6/2. Open Ayush Mhatre also departed soon as the reigning Ranji Trophy champions found themselves reeling at 37/3. But the experienced Rahane took control of the situation with a 102-run partnership with Shreyas Iyer. The two India internationals showed a lot of maturity against the quality Rest of India bowling unit consisting of Prasidh Krishna, Mukesh Kumar, Yash Dayal, Manav Suthar, and Saransh Jain. Rahane did not feature in the Duleep Trophy matches, and spent his time in the UK playing county cricket for Leicestershire. He scored a hundred for them in his second-last match before entering the prestigious Irani Cup match. On a surface supportive for the batters, the 36-year-old made the most of the opportunity and showed his class to lead Mumbai from the front. After Iyer's departure, Rahane got the company of rising India star Sarfaraz Khan. At the time of stumps on Day 1, Mumbai had scored 237/4 with the former India captain batting on 86 not out. He should caution in the early hours on Wednesday, October 2, as Sarfaraz played his shots freely. The pressure of the 90s finally got onto Rahane as he was dismissed for 97 off 234 after a review from Rest of India captain Ruturaj Gaikwad. The partnership between Rahane and Sarfaraz accounted for 131 runs. Rahane, who has played 85 Test matches for India, is featuring in his 192nd first-class game. He has scored over 13,000 runs at an average in excess of 45.