Kolkata Knight Riders captain Ajinkya Rahane admitted two-three quick wickets in their batting innings changed the impetus after their seven-wicket loss against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the opening match of IPL 2025 at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata on Saturday.
The home team was going strongly as they smashed 60 runs in the Powerplay overs after Quinton de Kock was dismissed cheaply. After 9.5 overs, KKR were 107-1 but quick wickets of well-settled batters – Ajinkya Rahane and Sunil Narine – did put them on the backfoot.
The new batters could not hit the ground running and KKR could only manage 23 runs in the last four overs. Rahane top-scored with 56 runs whereas Sunil Narine scored 44 runs but the others could not contribute much.
On the other hand, RCB were able to chase down the target of 175 runs with 22 balls to spare after Phil Salt and Virat Kohli scored 56 and 59* runs respectively. RCB got off to a blistering start as the openers clobbered 80 runs in the first six overs and made the most of the fielding restrictions.
Ajinkya Rahane admitted it was a below-par score and they were thinking of posting 200 runs on the board
Rahane said in the post-match presentation, “I thought we were going well till the 13th over but 2-3 wickets changed the momentum. Batters that followed tried their best but didn’t workout. When myself and Venky were batting we were discussing that 200-210 was achievable but those wickets changed the momentum.”
He added, “Little bit of dew was there but they had a very good powerplay with the bat. It (total) was under par. We were looking for 200+. We don’t want to think too much about this game but at the same time just try and get better in certain areas.”
Kolkata Knight Riders will next take on Rajasthan Royals at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati on Wednesday.
