In match no.38, the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) hosted the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Ekana Stadium, Lucknow. LSG won the toss and elected to field first, and once again, Ajinkya Rahane failed to give KKR the start they needed as he was dismissed on the score of 10 runs off 15 balls. The KKR skipper has had a poor season.
LSG had an excellent start as Mohammed Shami and Mohsin Khan were clinical with the new ball and mounted the pressure as the latter picked up the wicket of Tim Seifert, who was back in the pavilion without scoring. Then followed Ajinkya Rahane, as his string of low scores continues, as KKR are now in deep trouble with the score 21/2.
Ajinkya Rahane’s poor form continues
Ajinkya Rahane previously had two consecutive ducks coming to this match. He struggled from the very first delivery, and despite striking a six in the previous over, the pitch was slowish, and while playing an upish straight drive, providing a simple catch to Aiden Markram at mid-off. This will increase the pressure on the KKR captain.
Ajinkya Rahane, despite starting the season well, did not continue to score runs in the rest of the matches. He has scored 152 runs in 8 innings for KKR this season, which has been poor for a captain of one of the successful franchises in the IPL. His captaincy has also been called into question as KKR have just won one game in last 7 matches.
Just assess the conditions quickly- Ajinkya Rahane
Ajinkya Rahane at the toss said, “We were looking to bat first. At the moment, you know, for us, it’s important to see how we are playing as a team. So the bowling unit’s, I felt coming well, nicely together. The reason we wanted to bat first because, you know, giving that freedom to our batting unit so they can bat freely and then as I said, the bowling unit is coming together.”
“But again, in the end, you’ve got to just assess the conditions quickly, whether you bat first or bowl first and win those crucial moments in these power plays. We’re going with the same team. The must needed week off for us, all of us, especially that victory was really important from team point of view.”
“The morale was really good. But obviously the last two, three days, sitting back and sitting together as a team, reflecting on last seven games, what are the things we did right, the areas which we can improve.”
After being invited to bat first, KKR has been crumbling on a slow wicket, where the wickets have kept on falling, and there was a controversial decision which led to the dismissal of Angkrish Raghuvanshi as he was given out for obstructing the field.
Fans furious after Ajinkya Rahane departs for a low score
Ghanta,bhai kkr hi chutiya team hai aur Rahane chutiya captain ,iski jagah nahi banti usko captain bana rakha hai
— Abhishek Yadav (@Er_Abhi_N) April 26, 2026
Someone please stop Rahane from coming down to open the innings for KKR!
— Partha Pratim Sen (@parthasen21) April 26, 2026
How fool is KKR management, backing this test player Rahane… and Raghuvanshi is a fraud #LSGvsKKR
— Shah (@viva_shahadat) April 26, 2026
Sack Rahane trend chalao😂
— Kohli stan (@itsmebruh1234) April 26, 2026
Dear kkr management team are you nonsense… Rahane why not changes your team???? You please release your captaincy.
— Suman Malla (@SumanMalla1995) April 26, 2026
Any decent team would not even pick Rahane in the auction, and here is KKR making him their captain, letting him open and destroy any momentum in pp.. pathetic is an understatement.. venky mysore must be sacked
— Souvick Basu (@souvick4u) April 26, 2026
MC Rahane ko bol isko bhi drop kar dee Finn ki trhhh
— SH Iqbal (@iqbal__sh) April 26, 2026
I had a lot of respect for Rahane as a player and as the captain.
He’s losing a lot of good will/name he’s earned.— Ghost (@work_of_ghost) April 26, 2026
Also Read: IPL Points Table 2026: Updated Standings, Orange Cap, Purple Cap After CSK vs GT Match 37
