Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) suffered a disappointing 4-run loss against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in the 21st match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Tuesday, April 8th.

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Ajinkya Rahane played a captain's knock during the run chase for KKR. However, the 36-year-old's 61-run knock from 35 balls went in vain after he was dismissed by Shardul Thakur in the 13th over. The KKR skipper smashed 8 fours and 2 sixes during his time on the crease. 

Speaking at the post-match presentation, Rahane spoke about Andre Russell's recent stuggles to find form. He siad, “We are not at all concerned or worried about his form." That one line summed up the belief the Kolkata Knight Riders still have in their power-hitter, even after another tough defeat.

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KKR lost a close game at Eden Gardens, where more than 490 runs were scored. The home team so close, but couldn’t cross the finish line. The crowd had their hopes high, but the night belonged to Lucknow Super Giants.

'I thought our plans were perfect'

One of the biggest talking points was Sunil Narine not finishing his full quota of overs. Rahane cleared the air saying, “Not an injury thing,” he said. “I thought Nicholas Pooran was playing well against him and we thought playing the spinner was easy. One boundary was shorter so that’s the reason I wanted to go with Andre Russell.”

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The match turned in the middle overs. LSG batters Pooran and Marsh took on KKR’s bowling, especially when they missed their lengths. “I thought our plans were perfect,” Rahane said, “but they couldn’t bowl into the right area… and they just capitalised on the slightly loose balls.”

Despite the loss, Rahane praised his young bowlers. “Vaibhav bowled really well throughout this game,” he said, adding that it was a tough pitch for bowlers and boundaries were tricky to defend.

(With inputs from agencies)