IPL 2025: We Didn’t Bat Well, PBKS Didn’t Bowl Exceptionally, Says KKR Captain Rahane

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain Ajinkya Rahane admitted that his team didn’t perform well with the bat during their match against Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the 2025 Indian Premier League. KKR lost the game, and Rahane accepted that the team’s poor batting was the main reason for the defeat.

After the match, Rahane spoke to the media and said that PBKS did not bowl exceptionally well, but KKR failed to take advantage of the opportunities. “It wasn’t like Punjab bowled something special,” Rahane said. “We just didn’t bat the way we should have. We lost wickets at the wrong time and couldn’t build partnerships.”

KKR struggled to chase a target of 170 runs. Their top order collapsed early, and the middle order couldn’t recover. Despite a few short bursts of runs, the team was all out for a low score, handing PBKS a comfortable win.

Rahane, who scored only 18 runs in the match, took responsibility for his team’s batting failure. “As captain, I should have led better with the bat. We needed to stay calm and stick to our plan, but we couldn’t do that,” he added.

PBKS bowlers kept things tight but didn’t do anything extraordinary. However, they took advantage of KKR’s mistakes and picked up wickets regularly. Their consistent line and length forced KKR’s batters to make errors.

Rahane also mentioned that the team would go back, review the mistakes, and work on improving their batting in the next games. “It’s a long tournament. We still have matches left, and we need to bounce back quickly. One bad game shouldn’t define our season,” he said.

KKR’s fans were disappointed with the loss but hopeful the team would recover in upcoming matches. With strong players in the squad, KKR will aim to regroup and return to winning ways in their next game.