Rahane’s stylish 56 wasn’t enough to save Kolkata Knight Riders from defeat, but the skipper remains optimistic as the team eyes a strong comeback against Rajasthan Royals.
Kolkata, March 23: Ajinkya Rahane announced his arrival as Kolkata Knight Riders’ new captain in style, smashing a fluent 56 off 31 balls in their IPL 2025 opener against Royal Challengers Bengaluru. But despite his personal brilliance, KKR fell short, losing by 7 wickets at Eden Gardens on Saturday.
“I hope you all enjoyed my innings more than I did. For me, it’s always about contributing to the team,” Rahane said at the post-match press conference.
KKR looked dominant early on, racing to 107/1 in just 9.5 overs thanks to Rahane and Sunil Narine (44). But what looked like a 200+ score quickly crumbled, with the middle-order collapsing and KKR managing only 23 runs in the last four overs, ending at 174/9.
“Those wickets between the 13th and 16th overs changed the game. We had momentum, but we couldn’t capitalise,” Rahane admitted.
Despite the loss, the skipper remained calm and composed, highlighting positives from the match while emphasizing areas for improvement ahead of their next game against Rajasthan Royals in Guwahati on Wednesday.
“It’s only the first game. We have a batting unit that likes to take risks. This team has players who’ve done it before and I will continue to back them,” he added.
On the team’s combination, Rahane defended KKR’s decision to go with Quinton de Kock over Rahmanullah Gurbaz as the wicketkeeper-opener, stating the call was made based on team balance rather than recent form.
“Gurbaz is fantastic, but we can’t play everyone. The Quinton-Narine combo has danger written all over it. Left-right doesn’t always matter,” Rahane said.
Addressing the performance of his young pace unit — Harshit Rana, Vaibhav Arora, and Spencer Johnson — Rahane acknowledged their off-day but backed them to bounce back.
“Fast bowling is a tough job, especially coming back from injuries. I’ve seen them do well, and I believe in not making too many changes. They need our faith and support,” he noted.
While KKR may have stumbled at the start, Rahane’s leadership and level-headed approach suggest the Knights are already looking ahead, eager to learn from their mistakes and come back stronger.