Rahane Avoids Eden Gardens Pitch Controversy After KKR's Narrow Loss to LSG

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain Ajinkya Rahane chose to steer clear of the ongoing controversy surrounding the Eden Gardens pitch after his side’s thrilling four-run defeat to Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in a high-scoring IPL 2025 encounter on Tuesday. Despite KKR’s valiant chase of 239, Rahane preferred not to engage in discussions about the pitch, which had once again sparked debate over its suitability for spin bowling.

"If I say anything, it'll create chaos," Rahane said with a chuckle at the post-match press conference, echoing a sentiment famously expressed by football manager Jose Mourinho. "Agar main kuch bolunga na, toh bawal ho jayega" ("If I say anything, it'll create chaos"). His cryptic response comes amidst speculation regarding the pitch conditions, which many felt favored the batsmen, with both teams posting huge totals of 238 and 234 runs respectively.

Rahane, however, quickly deflected the attention from the pitch to the performance of his team. “Let me just keep it that way. Jo humare curator hai, unko bahut publicity mila hai (this discussion has just given our curator a lot of publicity),” he added. “Whatever you want to write about home advantage, you can go ahead. If I have any concerns, I will talk to the IPL about it, rather than you guys, and discuss with the concerned authorities.”

Spinners Struggle in High-Scoring Thriller

Despite playing on their home ground, KKR’s spinners had little impact on a pitch that appeared to offer no assistance to slow bowlers. Sunil Narine, one of the best spin bowlers in IPL history, had a forgettable outing, conceding 38 runs in his three overs without taking a wicket. With both sides clattering the ball around, KKR’s decision not to use all eight overs of spin raised eyebrows.

Rahane addressed these concerns, clarifying, “There was no help for the spinners, let me clear that. They used the longer boundary really well. Our bowlers tried as well, but again, Nicholas Pooran and Mitchell Marsh batted really well. In between, they took their chances, which came off really well for them.” He acknowledged that the wicket was a good one for batting, with nearly 500 runs scored in total, making it difficult for bowlers to contain the attacking batsmen.

The KKR captain emphasized that their bowlers had plans to counter Pooran and Marsh, who played vital knocks for LSG, but the execution fell short. “Sometimes, when we have a plan, it's all about execution, and that didn’t happen tonight for us,” Rahane said. “Against strong, quality players like Pooran and Marsh, there is very little margin for error. I thought our plans were perfect, but we couldn’t nail that perfect yorker or wide slower ball.”

Positive Takeaways Despite Defeat

While the loss stung, Rahane found plenty of positives from the match. Despite being set a challenging target of 239, KKR nearly pulled off the chase, falling just four runs short. Rahane himself played a brilliant knock of 61 runs, and the team's explosive powerplay performance — where they scored 90 runs in the first six overs — was their second-best IPL powerplay score ever.

“I thought we played really good cricket. Chasing 239 and coming that close is never easy. Everyone's intent and attitude was really positive when we came into the dressing room after 20 overs of bowling,” Rahane said. “We thought we would chase it down, but these things happen. When you're chasing, you lose two or three wickets in between. I thought the way we started in the powerplay with Sunny’s [Narine] intent and Venkatesh Iyer’s batting, their contribution was amazing.”

Rahane’s emphasis on learning from both successes and failures was clear. “Whatever happened in this game is in the past now. As long as we are learning from our mistakes and the good things we have done, that’s all,” he concluded.

Looking Ahead

KKR, now placed sixth in the points table with two wins from five games, will aim to bounce back in their next match against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on April 11. Despite the disappointment of the loss, Rahane’s side remains optimistic as they prepare for a short turnaround on the road.

Match Summary:

Lucknow Super Giants: 238/5 (Nicholas Pooran 77, Mitchell Marsh 63, Ravi Bishnoi 2-42)
Kolkata Knight Riders: 234/6 (Ajinkya Rahane 61, Venkatesh Iyer 42, Sunil Narine 38*)
Result: Lucknow Super Giants won by 4 runs.