KKR skipper Ajinkya Rahane injured his hand while fielding, prompting Sunil Narine to step in as captain in their win against Delhi Capitals.
Kolkata Knight Riders captain Ajinkya Rahane suffered a hand injury while fielding in their 15-run win over Delhi Capitals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Tuesday night in IPL 2025. The incident occurred during the 11th over when Rahane, stationed at extra cover, attempted to stop a powerful drive from DC opener Faf du Plessis off Andre Russell’s bowling. The ball struck Rahane’s finger as the South African completed a quick single. It was the first delivery of the over, which was later called a no-ball due to Russell overstepping.
Rahane showed signs of immediate discomfort, shaking his injured hand before walking off the field accompanied by the KKR team physio. He did not return for the remainder of the match. With vice-captain Venkatesh Iyer already substituted via the Impact Player rule by pacer Vaibhav Arora, the captaincy duties were handed over to experienced all-rounder Sunil Narine.
ALSO READ | IPL 2025 | Delhi Capitals Slip Again as Kolkata Knight Riders Win by 14 Runs
Despite the injury setback, KKR defended their total of 205 effectively. Delhi Capitals fell short by 15 runs, finishing on 190/9 despite a fighting half-century from Faf du Plessis. Speaking after the match about his condition, Rahane gave a positive update, saying, “Not bad. I’ll be OK. I’ll be fine.” According to a report from ESPNcricinfo, KKR’s medical team will assess the severity of his injury on Wednesday morning.
The win marked KKR’s fourth victory in 10 matches, keeping them in seventh place on the points table. However, Rahane believed they could have scored more. “204 on that wicket was good, but I thought we were 15 runs short, frankly. We were going really well as a batting unit. But again, you’re chasing 204, you know as a fielding team, you are one or two wickets away, and that’s what happened,” he said.
Praising Sunil Narine’s contribution with the ball, Rahane added, “When Sunil came into bowl and picked up two wickets, and when they lost three wickets in the middle, I thought that was the game for us. He’s been a champion bowler for this franchise. A match-winner. As a captain, good to have him and Varun (Chakaravarthy).”
ALSO READ | DC Mentor Kevin Pietersen Shares Warm Hug With Virat Kohli After RCB’s Win
