Ajinkya Rahane admits KKR faltered with their batting; he said, “target was chaseable” in the match against the Gujarat Titans at Eden Gardens.
Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Ajinkya Rahane believes that the 199-run target in their recent match against Gujarat Titans was “chaseable” and has “no complaints” with the bowlers. Rahane pointed out that their fifth loss in eight games was due to the struggling performance of the batting lineup.
Defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders faced a 39-run defeat against Gujarat Titans in their den (Eden Gardens) on Monday night. After the toss went in favor of KKR, Rahane elected to bowl first, and his side conceded 198/3. GT demonstrated their batting prowess in the powerplay, with an impressive opening by captain Shubman Gill (90 off 55) and Sai Sudarshan (52 off 36).
Unlike them, KKR lost its rhythm in the powerplay. Despite Rahane’s effort of 50 off 36, none of the players could chip in with the bat. Both Rahmanullah Gurbaz (1) and Sunil Narine (17) got out early during the powerplay, creating pressure on Ajinkya Rahane.
KKR altered their opening pair for this match by substituting Quinton de Kock with Gurbaz, but that decision did not prove successful. After the game, Rahane informed the media, “I thought 199 was chaseable, we came back into the game really well with the ball. When you are chasing 199, you expect a good opening start with the batters; that’s where we are struggling throughout this tournament. I thought 199 was chaseable on this wicket, we bowled really well, we faltered with our batting,”
Rahane didn’t shy away from admitting that it’s the batting side that has failed his side, as the bowlers did a good job by limiting the Titans below 200.
“We know these conditions really well, we need to bat properly, we need to bat well in the middle overs, that’s where we are struggling. When you’re chasing a big target, you expect a good start with the opening batters. That’s what we are looking to get better, as a batting unit, no complaints with our bowlers. Bowlers are doing really good job game after game,” he added.
Bravo Backs Russell’s Poor Performance
When asked about Andre Russell’s subpar performance in the 2025 Indian Premier League, mentor Dwayne Bravo reiterated Rahane’s thoughts. With just 55 runs in six innings this season, Russell has been incredibly unimpressive. Bravo also claimed that the batters had lost confidence and placed the responsibility on them.
“We as a team, didn’t bat properly. That’s just the reality. Russell isn’t the only one struggling right now. We need to keep the players mentally focused but IPL is that kind of tournament that when you don’t start well, batsmen go into a period where they’ve lost confidence. That’s what’s happening at the moment.”
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