Courtesy: BCCI/IPL/Google
Former India captain Sourav Ganguly feels Rinku Singh shouldn't be batting down the order for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. Against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at the iconic Eden Gardens on April 8, KKR sent Rinku to bat at number eight while chasing a mammoth total of 239 runs. Batting in the lower-middle-order, he produced a swift knock of an unbeaten 38 off 15. The southpaw stood at the crease until the last delivery of the match but couldn't take his team home. LSG bagged a four-run win and handed the hosts their third loss of the tournament.
"They've got some fabulous players. (Ajinkya) Rahane himself is in very good form. My only worry is I see Rinku Singh too much lower down the order. It's still early days. I'm sure they've got the opportunity to turn it around," said Ganguly at an event.
Earlier, when Ganguly was about KKR's misery at home in the tournament, he said to the host to ask Kolkata captain Ajinkya Rahane the question. Ganguly believes Kolkata were following the gigantic total against LSG brilliantly and the defending champions should've chased down the target with an over to spare. "Please ask Ajinkya Rahane. He'll be able to answer that (what's wrong with KKR at home). They were cruising in the last game and should have won that game with an over to spare," remarked the former KKR captain.
CSK and KKR to lock horns in Chennai in IPL 2025
CSK have appointed MS Dhoni as captain for the remainder of the season after Ruturaj Gaikwad's exit from the marquee T20 event, due to an injury. They will host KKR at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on April 11. Like Kolkata, the five-time champions have also played three matches at home this season and have lost two.
Chennai have an upper hand over Kolkata, winning 20 out of 32 encounters in the league. In Chennai, both teams have played against each other on 11 instances and the hosts emerged victorious eight times. Their last meeting happened at the venue in 2024 and the home side hammered KKR by seven wickets.
