Ajinkya Rahane led from the front with a quick and aggressive start for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the powerplay, putting Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) under pressure in the IPL 2025 opener at Eden Gardens, Kolkata. Rahane had to walk out to bat in the opening over of the game after Josh Hazlewood dismissed Quinton de Kock (4).
Rahane struggled at the start, but he picked up the pace when Rasik Dar Salam came on to bowl in the fourth over. He capitalized on some loose balls from the pacer, smashing him for 16 runs and getting KKR’s innings back on track.
Rahane’s aggressive batting gave Sunil Narine the confidence to attack as well, especially against left-arm spinner Krunal Pandya. In the sixth over, Rahane joined the party, hitting Yash Dayal all over the park. Thanks to their attacking approach, KKR reached 60/1 at the end of the powerplay.
KKR was struggling at 9/1 after three overs. Then Rahane turned things around in the next three overs, scoring 51 runs and giving the team a strong push. He reached his half-century in the 9th over, taking just 25 balls to get there. Rahane eventually got out after scoring 56 runs off 31 balls, hitting 6 fours and 4 sixes in his solid knock.
Ajinkya Rahane Confident About Team’s Strategy at Toss
Ajinkya Rahane said, “It’s an honour to lead this team. Our preparation has been good, the core group has been the same. Looking forward to bat well first and defend later on. It is all about giving the players the freedom and allow them to play as a unit. We are playing 3 fast bowlers and 2 spinners.”
Rahane’s selection as KKR captain had raised a few eyebrows. Many fans and experts wondered if the right-hander could play aggressive cricket. Former India batter Aakash Chopra even said that making Rahane the captain seemed like a last-minute decision by KKR.
But Rahane’s brilliant knock against RCB has been the perfect answer to all those doubts and criticisms.
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