Ajinkya Rahane: Kolkata Knight Riders were unable to secure a victory in the opening match of the 18th season of the IPL. On Saturday, they faced a defeat against Royal Challengers Bangalore by seven wickets. Although Kolkata began the match positively, they failed to translate that momentum into a win. Following the game, team captain Ajinkya Rahane reflected on the areas where his team faltered.
Summary of the match
Kolkata batted first, accumulating a total of 174 runs in 20 overs, losing eight wickets in the process. RCB successfully chased down this target on the second delivery of the 17th over. Virat Kohli played a pivotal role, remaining unbeaten with 59 runs off 36 balls, which included three sixes and four fours. Additionally, Salt contributed significantly with 56 runs from 31 balls, hitting nine fours and two sixes. This match marked Rahane’s debut as captain of Kolkata in the IPL, where he showcased an aggressive batting style, scoring a half-century with 56 runs off 31 balls, featuring six fours and four sixes. Rahane noted that while the team started strong, the loss of his wicket led to a decline in performance.
After the match, Rahane stated, “We performed well until the 13th over, but losing 2-3 wickets shifted the entire momentum. We need to learn from our errors. When Venkatesh Iyer and I were at the crease, it felt like we could reach 210-220, but we lost crucial wickets.”
Dew conditions
He acknowledged that dew conditions affected the second innings, but emphasized that the effective batting by Kohli and Salt during the powerplay made the situation even more challenging. Rahane remarked, “There was dew, but they batted exceptionally well in the powerplay. We failed to take early wickets. We do not want to dwell too much on this match; our focus is on improving as a team.”