After Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) first win in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL), Ajinkya Rahane termed the strike as “overrated” and emphasized “cricket awareness”. After five losses in six matches, the three-time champions beat Rajasthan Royals by four wickets on Sunday to record their first full points in front of their home fans at the Eden Gardens.
KKR have never had a solid power play in their last six matches, which according to spinner Varun Chakaravarthy and head coach Abhishek Nayar has made all the difference for the Purple and Gold so far. Against Rajasthan Royals, KKR’s batting again fell apart like a deck of cards. After 156 runs, KKR lost half of their team in 10.1 overs.
But it was an unbeaten 76-run stand between Rinku Singh and Anukul Roy that sealed the game for KKR with three balls to spare. With the required number eaten just around eight, the likes of Ajinkya Rahane, Cameron Green and Rovman Powell all perished to unnecessary shots.
Rahane acknowledged KKR’s poor powerplay conversion in IPL 2026 as a batting group but also called for awareness of the game. “Yes, in terms of batting, we have had a poor powerplay in the last three games, that’s where the cricketing awareness comes as a team,” Rahane said after KKR’s win.
“Sometimes I feel the strike rate is overrated. That’s the way the wicket is, you have to focus on the singles, still keep the intent but have those singles and doubles. It’s not about going out and hitting big sixes. I think if we can have that awareness of cricket, we take the game deep and we saw what happened today,” added Rahane, who himself registered two back-to-back overs.
KKR’s ‘Great Escape’ at Eden Gardens
Echoing Rahane, Rinku and Anukul focused more on singles and doubles and kept the scoreboard afloat. In fact, it was the 16th and 17th overs that changed the course of the game. While the KKR duo hit two massive sixes against Ravi Bishnoi right after the second time-out, Rinku’s two fours against Jofro Archer proved to be the turning point for KKR.
Rahane described the win as a “great escape” and reiterated that they need to learn quickly when it comes to their batting. “It was a great run for us, I would say the partnership from Rinku and Anukul, but as a batting unit we have to learn very quickly,” Rahane added.
“Luckily now we get that extra five, six days before the next game and those days are going to be really good but we have to reflect, we have to learn what mistakes we have made because like I said the God of cricket gives you one chance,” Rahane said. KKR will next face Lucknow Super Giants on April 26 at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow.
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