KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane had a tough time coming to terms with their three-wicket loss against Lucknow Super Giants at Eden Gardens on Thursday. It was another nail-biter that just slipped away. KKR batted first and put up a respectable 181 for 4 in their 20 overs. Rahane chipped in with 41, Angkrish Raghuvanshi scored 45, and Rovman Powell stayed unbeaten on 39. On a slow pitch, that felt like a real fighting total, especially since KKR had wrestled back some momentum during the middle overs.
But things changed fast. Lucknow pulled off a thrilling chase, with Mukul Chaudhary stealing the show. He hammered an unbeaten 54 from just 27 balls and formed a vital partnership after Ayush Badoni set things up earlier in the innings.
After the match, Rahane didn’t hide his disappointment but gave credit where it was due. “It’s a hard pill to swallow, but honestly, I’m proud of how the guys fought tonight. Mukul’s innings was the difference,” he said, nodding to the match-winner.
Talking about what went wrong at the death, Rahane admitted, “Sometimes the execution goes off here and there in the last two overs. Still, Mukul and his partner really went for it—nothing to lose, 30 needed from two overs, just swinging for the fences.”
Even though there were a few decent deliveries, Mukul took the game away with his aggressive intent. “Some balls were actually pretty good, but you have to say he batted outstandingly well,” Rahane added.
He also pointed out that defending 180 on this surface was never going to be simple. “On this wicket, 180 wasn’t an easy score to chase. You’ve got to give the batter credit for the way he played.”
Rahane explained his team’s thinking for the last over: “We wanted to keep Avesh Khan on strike. We had to bring five fielders up—it’s not easy on the bowlers in that situation.”
Even after another close defeat, Rahane stayed upbeat about his squad’s effort, though he admitted the margins were razor-thin. KKR are still searching for their first win of the season. Next up, they face the mighty Chennai Super Kings on April 14.
