KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane plays a shot en route to his half-century against RCB in IPL 2025 opener at Kolkata's Eden Gardens on Saturday (March 22). Photo: BCCI/IPL
Rahane backs ‘dangerous and explosive’ KKR batters after loss to RCB
Despite the result in the opening game, captain Ajinkya Rahane is confident that the batting unit will bounce back
Defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) suffered a seven-wicket loss against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the opening game of IPL 2025 at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Saturday night (March 22).
Skipper Ajinkya Rahane led from the front with a scintillating 56 runs in 31 balls to get KKR off to a blistering start, before the team stumbled in the middle overs, posting a total of 174/8. In reply, RCB chased down the target in 16.2 overs thanks to half-centuries from openers Phil Salt (56) and Virat Kohli (59 not out).
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What Rahane said
Despite the result in the opening game, captain Rahane is confident that the batting unit will bounce back. He said, “The guys who are batting in the middle order are experienced, dangerous and explosive players. They have handled many situations like this in the past. It’s always about giving them the freedom and allowing them to go out there to play their game.”
“When that works out, it looks good. It didn’t work out today and that’s okay, it’s going to happen. It’s a long tournament; we’re going to back every individual”, he added while addressing the media during the post-match press conference.
Reflecting on his performance with the bat, the experienced campaigner shared, “For me, it’s all about contributing to the team. Whatever runs I score, it’s always for the team and that’s what matters to me. I would prefer scoring those runs and ending up on the winning side.”
Narine-de Kock opening pair
Rahane also shed some light on the opening combination for KKR, He stated, “We have batters who like to go after the bowlers. Quinton de Kock has been a dangerous player in this format. He has scored runs at the top of the order. Sunil (Narine), we all know he had a brilliant season and he’s been doing really well. As a team, we believe that de Kock and Narine can be a dangerous opening pair.”
KKR will look to bounce back when they take on Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati on March 26.