Credit: IPL
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) skipper Ajinkya Rahane held his batters responsible for the humiliating eight-wicket defeat against Mumbai Indians (MI) in match number 12 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in the. Batting first after losing the toss, Kolkata looked indisciplined and could score only 116 runs in 16.2 overs. Their key batters Quinton de Kock, Sunil Narine, Venkatesh Iyer, and Andre Russell failed to score in double digits. Rahane also played seven balls and hoarded only 11 runs. Debutant left-arm pacer Ashwani Kumar bolstered MI’s bowling attack efficiently and bagged 4/24 in his three overs.
After the match, Rahane appeared in a post-match presentation and put blame on the batting unit. He also added that a total of 180-190 would’ve been attainable but the side lost early wickets which made their comeback difficult. “Collective batting failure. It was a good wicket bat on as I mentioned in the toss. 180-190 would have been good on this wicket. It has a very good bounce. Sometimes you have to use the pace and bounce. We got to learn fast from this game. Couldn't do much with the ball. They tried their best. But not much runs on the board. We kept on losing wickets. Four wickets in the powerplay. It was difficult to consolidate and get that total on the board. You need that partnership going. You need one batsman to stay till the end," said Rahane.
KKR will return to their home to host SRH on April 3
KKR's next contest will be against the 2024 runners-up Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the distinguished Eden Gardens on April 3. Both sides played against each other thrice last year, with KKR emerging victorious on all three occasions.
This year, the Orange Army will strive to deliver a tough time to defending champions, who shattered the 2016 champion side’s dream to lift the trophy for the second time the previous year. Like Kolkata, Hyderabad also faced a crushing defeat in their last match. Against Delhi Capitals in Visakhapatnam, the Sunrisers registered an embarrassing seven-wicket defeat.
