Watch: Danny Morrison absolutely shocked by Ajinkya Rahane’s 'bowl first' decision in day game vs LSG

Kolkata Knight Riders and Lucknow Super Giants are locking horns against each other in the 21st match of the ongoing IPL 2025 at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Tuesday, April 8. KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane won the toss and opted to bowl first, leaving the broadcaster Danny Morrison stunned.

As soon as Danny Morrison saw the head on the coin and asked the KKR captain about his call, Ajinkya Rahane was quick to announce his decision, saying he was going to bowl first in the afternoon game against Lucknow Super Giants.

Ajinkya Rahane shocks Danny Morrison with toss call in KKR vs LSG clash at Eden Gardens

It left Morrison surprised, as he was like, “Oh, it's a day game you're going to bowl first.”

The broadcaster’s reaction brought a smile to the KKR captain’s face, as he further went on to explain his call. Rahane felt the pitch looked good and the weather wasn't too hot. With one shorter boundary, he believes that chasing would be the better option.

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The Kolkata Knight Riders captain also said that his team is focused on staying positive and taking things step by step, as they have had so far a mixed season, winning two of their four games. They made one change in their playing XI, dropping Moeen Ali for Spencer Johnson.

Ajinkya Rahane explains his shocking call to bowl first at Eden Gardens

Ajinkya Rahane said at the toss, “We are going to bowl first. The wicket looks really good; it's not that hot. The wicket won't change much. One side boundary is small; that's why we are bowling first. Everyone is looking forward to this game.

This game is all about starting fresh; you need to take the positives and need to take one step at a time. People are going to talk about it; we know Quinny and Sunil are match-winners. We are not worried about them. Spencer comes in place of Moeen.”

🚨 Toss 🚨@KKRiders won the toss and elected to bowl against @LucknowIPL at the Eden Gardens.

Updates ▶ https://t.co/3bQPKnwPTU#TATAIPL | #KKRvLSG pic.twitter.com/wgiPZDBu5L

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 8, 2025

Ajinkya Rahane’s toss call backfires as LSG openers go on rampage at Eden Gardens

However, Rahane’s decision to bowl first against the LSG is correct both logically, as six of the last seven afternoon games played at Eden Gardens have been won by the chasing side. But this match is being played on the new pitch, so Morrison’s reaction was obvious on Rahane’s call. And even the last match played at the venue was won by the batting-first side.

Well, it seems that Ajinkya Rahane’s decision backfired as the LSG openers Aiden Markram and Mitchell Marsh have provided their team a flying start. Currently, LSG’s score reads 72/0 in just 7 overs against KKR in the ongoing IPL 2025 clash at the Eden Gardens.

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Notably, Eden Gardens has so far hosted 95 matches in the IPL. Teams that chased the target have won 56 times, while teams that batted first have won 39 times, meaning chasing teams have tested more success at the Eden Gardens.

SRH collapse after KKR’s batting blitz in the last IPL 2025 game in Kolkata

The Eden Gardens hosted the last IPL match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad. SRH had won the toss and chose to bowl first, but that move didn’t work out. KKR stars Venkatesh Iyer and Angkrish Raghuvanshi played superb knocks of 60 and 50, respectively, to take the team to a big total of 200 runs.

Defending the target, KKR’s bowlers completely took control. They tore through the batting lineup and bowled SRH out for just 120 runs as Kolkata won the game by 80 runs.