Kolkata Knight Riders captain Ajinkya Rahane revealed the team’s game plan after a stunning 80-run win over Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL 2025. With the win, the defending champions moved to number five on the points table.
Defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders registered a massive 80-run victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad at the iconic Eden Gardens. The Ajinkya Rahane-led side was asked to bat first but they struggled to get going, losing the wickets of Quinton de Kock and Sunil Narine. After being put in a tight spot, KKR were expected to change their approach but captain Rahane and Angkrish Raghuvanshi decided to keep the scoreboard ticking and that set the momentum for the middle order.
The duo stitched a valuable partnership of 81 runs, and later Venkatesh Iyer and Rinku Singh played some brilliant cricket to help the hosts post 200 runs on board. Youngster Raghuvanshi smashed 50 runs while Venkatesh put 60 runs on the board of 29 balls. Rinku Singh played a vital knock of unbeaten 32 runs off just 17 balls.
In the second innings, the KKR bowlers produced a stunning show as Vaibhav Arora and Varun Chakaravarthy picked up three wickets each. They kept the SRH batters in check as KKR in the end picked up a comfortable win in the end. With that, the three-time champions moved to number five on the IPL points table.
After the win, Rahane lauded the batting unit, especially after being two down at one stage. He explained that the goal was to play with the right intent and was happy to see the team bail through the difficult phase and post a respected total on the board.
“This game was really important for us. Winning by big margin was crucial. Even we wanted to bowl on this wicket. When we lost two early wickets, wanted to consolidate till 6 overs – play with intent but play cricketing shots. And then when we have wickets in hand, guys down the order can get as many runs as possible. Happy with the batting unit. Last two games were not upto the mark for us. But we learned a lot from our mistakes,” Rahane said in the post-match presentation.
“This is a great example for us as a batting unit. Rinku and Venkatesh – those guys can play brilliant shots. Ramandeep was sitting in the dugout, Dre was sitting and Moeen was also ready. It was about playing normal till 15 overs and take it on. Initially, we thought 170-180 in the surface would be good,” he added.
