IPL 2018: Lost Because We Played Badly, Says Disappointed Ajinkya Rahane

Rajasthan Royals batsmen failed to show up in an important game against Kolkata Knight Riders as they lost by six wickets at Eden Gardens. However, Royals leader Ajinkya Rahane is dejected after the loss.

Having won the toss, Kolkata Knight elected to field first on a tricky Eden Gardens wicket. However, the bowlers could not stop the power hitting of Rajasthan openers Rahul Tripathi and Jos Buttler. The duo got the visitors to a flying start but once Tripathi was dismissed, Kolkata bowlers took the hold off a game.

Kuldeep Yadav spun his web around Rajasthan batsmen and they fell for the trap. Rahane once again failed with the bat. But the wicket of Jos Buttler in the 10th over really opened the middle order for the Kolkata bowlers. The bowlers soon ran riot over Rajasthan batsmen as none of the middle order batsmen were able to handle the pressure.

Rajasthan succumbed to the high-quality bowling on display. But a quick flurry of runs from Jaydev Unadkat has helped Rajasthan reach at least 142 as they were all out in 19 overs.

Kuldeep was the star bowler with four wickets, Andre Russell was also quite impressive.

Kolkata Batsmen Were Impressive in Run Chase:

Asked to chase 143, Knight Riders got the best possible start for the game courtesy of Sunil Narine. He scored 21 runs in the first over of the innings before getting dismissed.

Robin Uthappa soon perished which handed more responsibility on the young shoulders of Nitish Rana. He along with Lynn has cut the wickets and scored runs at good pace.

Once Rana was dismissed, captain Dinesh Karthik once again thrived with Lynn as the duo added 48 runs for the fourth wicket. The captain finished the game in style with a six and got a very important win for his team.

Speaking after the match Ajinkya Rahane said the blame has to be on the batters.

He said: “The intent was positive (from the team). Jos (Buttler) and Tripathi batted really well and when I went in I just wanted to carry the momentum forward. Jos was batting really well and it’s not just upto him all the time. Batsmen will have to take responsibility. We have to blame all the batsmen and we lost because we played badly.

Ajinkya Rahane, who struggled with the bat asserted lessons must be learnt while adding the camp will miss Buttler and Stokes.

“I felt our bowlers bowled really well. 170-180 would have been very good. We still have a chance. (Team) has to learn from this game and move forward. We know how the wicket will play in Jaipur, so we got to learn and move forward. We will definitely miss Jos and Stokes, but as a cricketer, I really feel happy for Jos that he has been picked in the Test squad. As a player you feel really happy when to play the Test matches,” Rahane concludes.