KKR would've been No. 1 or 2 in 'tough' IPL 2025 if...: Ajinkya Rahane makes bold claim

Ajinkya Rahane-led Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) played their 14th and final match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 against the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Sunday, May 25.

Kolkata Knight Riders lost the 68th match of IPL 2025 against the Sunrisers Hyderabad by 110 runs at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.

Also Read: Heinrich Klaasen scripts history with 37-ball ton in IPL 2025; check every record shattered

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We were short on our execution part - Ajinkya Rahane

KKR were invited to bowl first in the match, and they had a horrible outing. SRH's batting unit, led by Heinrich Klaasen, annihilated KKR bowlers and scored 278 runs. Sunil Narine (2/42) and Vaibhav Arora (1/39) were the only two bowlers who were among the wickets in the innings.

Chasing the target, KKR never looked like they were in the game as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals. They got all out for 168 runs in 18.4 overs to suffer a crushing loss.

Speaking after the match, KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane lauded the Sunrisers Hyderabad batters for their exceptional performance and slammed his bowlers. Ajinkya Rahane stated:

"I thought they batted really well, Yes, we made few errors while bowling, but the way they batted, they capitalised on all the loose balls and also hit all the good balls as well. Credit goes to SRH batters, their intent was really great."

This format is really tough, this IPL is really tough - Ajinkya Rahane

Ajinkya Rahane revealed that they had certain plans to deal with the explosive SRH batting unit, but the bowlers failed to execute those plans. He said:

"We did discuss about bowling slower balls, bowling wider, bowling wide slower balls as well but sometimes if the bowlers don't execute the plan really well, then batters like Klaasen and all the SRH batters ... they batted really well. We were short on our execution part but also made lot many errors throughout the innings as a bowling unit."

Ajinkya Rahane further said that they lost 2-3 close matches in IPL 2025, and had they won those games, they would have been sitting in the top two. KKR Ajinkya Rahane also labeled IPL as a very tough competition and promised that the Kolkata Knight Riders would bounce back. He stated:

"Throughout the season, we had our moments, we had our chances, 2-3 close games which we thought we didn't play well as a team, as a unit. Apart from that, we tried our best, we gave our best. A format like this, you got to be switched on every time. This format is really tough, this IPL is really tough.

"As a team, we had those chances, we had those moments, we would have been probably number one or two in the table. But, no regrets, lots to learn from this season. All the players tried their best, gave their best. We'll come back really stronger next year."

How did KKR perform in the previous IPL match against SRH?

Kolkata Knight Riders delivered a complete team performance at Eden Gardens on April 3, 2025, to crush Sunrisers Hyderabad by 80 runs.

After being asked to bat first, KKR overcame early setbacks to post a good score of 200/6. Venkatesh Iyer played an explosive innings of 60 off 29 deliveries while Angkrish Raghuvanshi smashed 50 off 32 balls. Ajinkya Rahane came up with a crucial knock of 38 runs off 27 balls and Rinku Singh provided the finishing touches with an unbeaten 32 off 17 balls.

With the ball, KKR came out all guns blazing. Vaibhav Arora returned with figures of 3/29, and his pace-bowling partners - Harshit Rana (1/15) and Andre Russell (2/21), also did a good job.

The spin duo of Varun Chakravarthy (3/22) and Sunil Narine (1/20) applied the pressure as well, and KKR bowled SRH out for 120 in 16.4 overs.