Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) suffered a narrow four-run defeat at the hands of Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in Match 21 of the IPL 2025 season at the Eden Gardens on Tuesday (April 8).
Asked to bat first, LSG racked up a mammoth 238/3 on the board, courtesy of brutal half-centuries from Nicholas Pooran (87* off 36) and Mitchell Marsh (81 off 48). Aiden Markram (47 off 28) also made notable contributions with the bat.
Defending the total, LSG overcame scary knocks from Ajinkya Rahane (61 off 35), Venkatesh Iyer (45 off 29), Rinku Singh (38* off 15) and Sunil Narine (30 off 13) to limit KKR to 234/7 in 20 overs.
The hosts seemed to be in cruise control in their daunting 239-run chase till the 13th over. However, captain Rahane’s dismissal triggered a collapse and things started to turn in LSG's favour.
KKR did not help their cause by delaying the arrival of Andre Russell and Rinku Singh - two of their biggest hitters.
After the game, former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif slammed the defending champions for sending Russel at No.7 and Rinku at No.8 in a run chase where the required rate was 12 runs from the outset.
“KKR needs to avoid taking right-left theory too seriously. When chasing 239, you can't play Rusell at No.7 and Rinku at No. 8. Way too late for your big hitters,” Kaif tweeted.
Apart from Kaif, a number of experts questioned KKR’s tactics to hold back their big hitters against LSG.
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