Rahane's words came after KKR made a mess of another run chase, only to be rescued by Rinku Singh.
After six games of anguish and heartache, destiny smiled on KKR, who rallied from defeat to triumph by four wickets over RR in Kolkata on Sunday. Despite an 81-run stand between Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (46) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (39), RR could only reach 155/9 after KKR's superb bowling display, which was aided by good bowling from Varun (3/14) and Kartik (3/22).
“First of all, really happy to be here. I got five extra minutes after the game. Feels really good. There were a lot of emotions going on during the game, but personally, I'm really happy for Rinku Singh, Anukul Roy, and Varun Chakaravarthy as well. The way he bowled in the middle today, Varun was going through a tough phase, but in the last three games, he's been bowling fantastically. Rinku Singh again; he was going through a tough phase mentally. Really happy to see him finishing the game. And Anukul Roy, he had a fantastic domestic season; he's a very confident guy. We wanted to give him that opportunity. Today, he couldn't bowl because of the left-hand-right-hand combination. But really happy to see how both of them batted in that partnership for us,” Ajinkya Rahane stated at the post-match presentation.
He praised Kartik Tyagi, who has been bowling fast and with very good line and length, reaping the rewards of his hard work.
“Fantastic, he's been really good from the practice games that we played. Since then, he's been really clear about his ability and what he wants to do in the middle. As a captain, when you have a guy like that who's really clear coming and playing after a very long time, he's still young. But the confidence that he has in his ability to bowl what he wants to in different kinds of situations has been amazing. He bowled in the death overs, bowling in those middle overs as well, sometimes tough overs. So, really happy to see Kartik Tyagi gaining that confidence as a young fast bowler. And the pace at which he's bowling has been fantastic,” he said.
Ajinkya Rahane was questioned about his team’s batting form. However, Rahane stated that sometimes strike rate is overrated and batters have to take the game deep. Notably, he has only two scores in double digits in the last five IPL 2026 games, including two consecutive ducks.
“As I said, batting-wise, yes, we had a bad power play the last three games, basically not good, but again, that's where the cricketing awareness comes in as a team, as a batting unit. Sometimes I feel strike rate is overrated. With a wicket like this, you just have to focus on the singles, still keep the intent, and have those singles and doubles. It's not about going out there and hitting big sixes. I think we can have that cricketing awareness and take the game deep, and we saw what happened today. In the last couple of games, yes, we made those errors, but that can happen.
This was a great escape for us, I would say, that partnership from Rinku and Anukul, but as a batting unit, we need to learn very quickly. Thankfully, we'll get those five, six extra days now before the next game, and those days will be really good, but we need to reflect; we need to learn what errors we have made, because, as I said, the cricketing god gives you that one opportunity,” Ajinkya Rahane said.
Rahane thanked the KKR fans for their continuous support despite their consecutive losses in the ongoing IPL 2026 tournament.
“The fans have been fantastic throughout here; they come here and support. The last five games were really bad for us, but this victory belongs to them. This victory belongs to the fans, as I said. They have been amazing, very positive. Once we enter the stadium, you get that positive vibe, those loud chants, and the atmosphere; that energy has been fantastic,” he concluded.