On March 29 (Sunday), Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) put up 220 on the board, yet ended up on the losing side. Now on April 2 (Thursday), KKR were bundled out for 161 in pursuit of 227 against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in their second Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 fixture. As a result, KKR have now lost the first two matches of a season for the first time since 2012.
This is also the first time a team has successfully defended a total this season.
Is there a cause for concern in the batting department? KKR skipper Ajinkya Rahane believes that it is just one bad day in the office and believes his side will bounce back.
“We got 3-4 days. We don’t want to think too much. I think guys are doing really well. Just one off day with the bat. Last game we did really well. Just needed those small partnerships. I think if the batters can have that positive mindset and this extra awareness while batting, I think we’ll be fine,” Rahane said at the post-match presentation.
“Middle overs were the crucial time for us. We needed that partnership from the set batters. That just didn’t happen. I thought SRH bowlers executed the slower balls and the angles what they used was really good.”
Rahane believes that the ball stopped a lot more during the chase, making ot tougher for the batters to play their shots freely.
“I thought the second innings, I felt the ball was slightly stopping. The slower balls were gripping a lot more than the first innings. We thought the wicket will get better but the ball was little stopping. But again, see, no excuses. We got the good start. I thought first six overs we were 78. We lost that one extra wicket. Green is run out. But apart from that, we were going really well,” Rahane noted.
KKR will hope to get their IPL 2026 campaign back on track when they take on Punjab Kings (PBKS) next on April 6 (Monday) at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata.
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