IPL 2025: Ajinkya Rahane urges batters to step up after loss against Gujarat Titans

Kolkata Knight Riders captain Ajinkya Rahane said their batting unit needs to step up after they suffered a huge loss of 39 runs against Gujarat Titans at the Eden Gardens in the ongoing IPL 2025 on Monday. Rahane reckons the target of 199 runs was chaseable and they did a decent job with the ball after Gujarat Titans got off to a promising start.

Sai Sudharsan and Shubman Gill added 114 runs off 78 balls to lay down another strong platform. Gill top-scored with 90 runs whereas Sudharsan scored 52 runs to help their team get close to 200 runs.

Meanwhile, KKR kept losing wickets at regular intervals as their batting unit once again failed to deliver. Ajinkya Rahane scored 50 runs whereas Angkrish Raghuvanshi scored an impressive 27 but none of the other batters could show much resistance. 

Ergo, KKR could only manage 159 runs and suffered a big loss as their batting struggles continued.

Ajinkya Rahane said in the post-match presentation, “I thought 199 was chaseable, we came back into the game really well with the ball. When you are chasing 199, you expect a good opening start with the batters, that’s where we are struggling throughout this tournament. I thought 199 was chaseable on this wicket. We bowled really well, but we faltered with our batting. We need to learn as quickly as possible and keep going.”

He added, “It was a little slow, but we thought if we get them below 200, it’ll be really good. We know these conditions really well, we need to bat properly, we need to bat well in the middle overs, that’s where we are struggling. When you’re chasing a big target, you expect a good start with the opening batters. That’s what we are looking to get better at, as a batting unit, no complaints with our bowlers.”

Kolkata Knight Riders will next take on Punjab Kings at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata on Saturday.