IPL 2025 – Ajinkya Rahane on KKR’s Dominant Win Over SRH: “This Was a Must-Win, Margin Matters”

KKR skipper praises team’s all-round performance after 80-run win against SRH, highlighting key learnings, standout batting, and spin attack.

Kolkata, April 4:
Ajinkya Rahane, captain of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), expressed satisfaction after his team bounced back in style with a commanding 80-run win over Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at Eden Gardens in their IPL 2025 clash.

“This game was really important for us. Winning by a big margin was crucial,” Rahane said at the post-match presentation.

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💥 Bounce Back After Two Losses

After back-to-back defeats to RCB and MI, KKR’s campaign got back on track with vital contributions from Venkatesh Iyer (60 off 29), Angkrish Raghuvanshi (50 off 32), and Rahane himself (38 off 27). Their efforts helped KKR post 200/6, before bowlers Vaibhav Arora (3/29) and Varun Chakravarthy (3/22) dismantled the SRH batting unit.

Rahane credited the team for learning from their past mistakes:

“The last two games and even the RR win weren’t our best. But we’ve learned. This match showed our intent with the bat, and how depth in the line-up helps when wickets are in hand.”

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🔍 Strategic Approach and Depth

Discussing KKR’s strategy, Rahane revealed the team aimed for controlled aggression early on:

“We wanted to consolidate after losing two wickets early. Play with intent, but cricketing shots till six overs, and then explode when we had wickets in hand.”

He praised the firepower in the middle and lower order, highlighting players like Rinku Singh, Venkatesh Iyer, Ramandeep Singh, Andre Russell, and Moeen Ali waiting in the wings.

“This is a great example for our batting unit. The depth is incredible. Rinku and Venkatesh were brilliant. Even Dre and Moeen didn’t need to bat today.”

Rahane also acknowledged the spin trio’s performance, despite Moeen not bowling:

“Slower balls were gripping. Sunny (Narine) and Varun bowled really well. Credit also to Vaibhav and Harshit Rana for executing the plan.”

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🧩 Match Summary

• KKR: 200/6 (Venkatesh 60, Raghuvanshi 50, Rahane 38)
• SRH: 120 all out (Klaasen 33, Mendis 27; Arora 3/29, Chakravarthy 3/22)

Despite early breakthroughs by Mohammed Shami (1/29) and Harshal Patel (1/43), SRH couldn’t contain KKR’s middle-order onslaught. During the chase, no batter beyond Klaasen and Mendis crossed 30.

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📊 Points Table Update

• KKR: 2 wins, 2 losses – 5th place
• SRH: 1 win, 3 losses – bottom of the table