Rahane Defends Batting Order Shuffle as KKR Falls to Gujarat Titans in IPL 2025 Clash

Kolkata Knight Riders captain Ajinkya Rahane has defended his decision to not promote young batter Angkrish Raghuvanshi up the order during their 39-run loss to Gujarat Titans in an IPL 2025 encounter at Eden Gardens on Monday.

Chasing a challenging 199-run target set by the Titans, the defending champions were restricted to 159/8, slumping to their fifth defeat of the season. Raghuvanshi, who surprisingly came in at number nine, offered a late spark with a quickfire unbeaten 27 off just 13 balls. However, his valiant effort came too late to change the outcome.

Addressing the media post-match, Rahane emphasized the need for bold decision-making in T20 cricket. “This format is about being brave as a batter, you can’t think too much about the past, just learn from the mistakes and take your chances, have a positive mindset,” he said. “If you think about getting out, you will get out. Instead, you should think about scoring runs or hitting boundaries.”

Despite Raghuvanshi’s impressive cameo, Rahane stood by the strategy of backing his experienced middle-order players during the chase. “Good to see Angkrish batting really well. Today was a situation we wanted to push the other batters up,” he added, referencing the decision to elevate Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, and Andre Russell in the lineup.

However, the plan didn’t bear fruit as the trio failed to convert their starts. Iyer made 14, Rinku added 17, and Russell chipped in with 21, leaving KKR unable to recover from the middle-order collapse.

Earlier, Gujarat Titans posted a formidable 198/3, led by their skipper Shubman Gill’s commanding 90-run knock. He was well-supported by Sai Sudharsan, who scored 52, and Jos Buttler, who remained unbeaten on 41. KKR’s bowling lacked bite, with only Harshit Rana, Vaibhav Arora, and Russell managing a wicket apiece. Star spinner Varun Chakravarthy returned wicketless with figures of 0/33.

The result sees Gujarat Titans consolidate their position at the top of the IPL standings with 12 points from eight matches. Meanwhile, KKR languish in seventh place with six points, facing an uphill battle to keep their playoff hopes alive.