Kolkata Knight Riders captain Ajinkya Rahane expressed deep disappointment with his team’s batting performance after they crumbled while chasing a modest 112 against Punjab Kings in Mohali on Tuesday.
Rahane, who played a sweep shot and was given out LBW, admitted his mistake, saying not taking the DRS added to the woes. His dismissal sparked a dramatic collapse that led to a 16-run defeat for the visitors — the lowest total ever defended in the history of the Indian Premier League.
“Nothing to explain; we all saw what happened there. Pretty disappointed with the effort. I’ll take the blame; I played the wrong shot, although it (the ball) was missing,” Rahane said during the post-match presentation.
Kolkata’s chase started poorly, losing openers Sunil Narine and Quinton de Kock within two overs. Despite a brief resistance from Angkrish Raghuvanshi (37) and Rahane (17), the Knight Riders stumbled from 71/3 to 95 all out in 15.1 overs.
“We batted badly as a batting unit, we take full responsibility. Bowlers did well on this surface, restricting a strong Punjab batting lineup to 111,” Rahane added, crediting the bowlers for their strong first-half showing.
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The turning point came in the 12th over when leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal picked up two wickets in two balls, dismissing Rinku Singh (2) and Ramandeep Singh (0). Chahal also removed Rahane and Raghuvanshi to finish with figures of 4/28 and seal Punjab’s unlikely victory.
The Punjab bowling unit, led by Chahal and supported by Marco Jansen (3/17), dismantled the Kolkata middle and lower order in quick time.
“When I (will) go upstairs, (I will) need to keep myself calm and then think about what to say to the boys. (We) still have to be positive (as) half of the tournament is still remaining,” Rahane concluded. Kolkata now turn their attention to their next fixture against Gujarat Titans at home on April 21.
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