Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], March 23 : Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain Ajinkya Rahane has hinted at the possibility of Rinku Singh being promoted in the batting order in the upcoming matches, where he could get more deliveries to face.
In their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 opener against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), Rinku, who has been a consistent performer for both KKR and the Indian team in the shortest format, could manage just 12 off 10 balls as he came in lower down the order.
Speaking at the post-match press conference following KKR's seven-wicket defeat, Rahane acknowledged the discussions about sending Rinku up the order but explained that match situations often dictate such decisions.
"Yes, I mean, Rinku has been batting really well--for KKR and also for the Indian team, especially in this shorter format. He has been doing really well," Rahane said.
"The talks about promoting him up the order are happening, but sometimes you have to play according to the situation and decide who is better suited at that moment," he added.
Rahane revealed that the initial plan was to send Rinku in earlier, but back-to-back dismissals forced a change in approach.
"We thought Angkrish [Raghuvanshi] was the better option because we had around 10 to 11 overs left when he went in. The plan was to send Rinku, but after both Venkatesh Iyer and I got out in quick succession, we had to adjust," Rahane explained.
Despite the setback, Rahane assured that fans could expect to see Rinku getting more opportunities up the order in the coming matches.
"As I mentioned, Rinku has been batting really well, and you will see him bat higher up the order," he concluded.
Coming to the match, in pursuit of 175, Phil Salt and Virat Kohli (59*) provided a swashbuckling start to Bengaluru. The Englishman played the role of aggressor, while Kohli was belligerent with the limited set of deliveries that came his way in the powerplay.
With Salt's ruthless strokeplay, RCB raced to 80 at the end of the powerplay without losing a wicket, their second-highest total in the cash-rich league's history.
Throughout the first six overs, KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane threw everything up his sleeve at the destructive duo, including mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy. Salt singlehandedly ripped Chakravarthy apart in the fourth over and hammered 21 runs from his over.
The effortless strokes, which perfectly blended with their approach, ensured RCB remained unscathed in the first six overs.KKR found the breakthrough, but it was too late to salvage a win. Moments after Salt completed his fifty, he skewed his shot to Spencer Johnson, handing Chakaravarthy his first wicket of the match.
Devdutt Padikkal tried to take on Sunil Narine by ambling down the crease but sent it straight to Ramandeep Singh's hands.
The Chase Master was at work and continued his rich vein of form and brought up his fifty by lofting the ball over cover to find the boundary rope. His name echoed in the Eden Gardens as RCB took a massive step closer towards victory.
RCB skipper Rajat Patidar came in, spread his carnage with a rollicking display and raced to a swift 34 before losing his wicket to Vaibhav Arora.
Liam Livingstone (15*) came in to wrap up the things for RCB. He got off the mark with a four, smoked the ball into the stands on the first ball of the next over, and finished things in style with a boundary to seal a seven-wicket win for the visitors.
In the first innings, the hosts didn't have a good start to the 18th edition, as they lost De Kock in the first over itself after scoring just four runs. Right-arm seamer Josh Hazelwood claimed the wicket.
Following the southpaw's departure, the team skipper Ajinkya Rahane came out to bat in the middle along with Narine. Both the batters attacked the RCB bowlers and brought up the team's fifty in the sixth over.
Rahane completed his 50-run mark on the first ball of the ninth over as he slammed a boundary on the bowling of leg-spinner Suyash Sharma.
In the 10th over, Rahane and Narine completed their 100-run partnership in the same over. The KKR franchise lost the second wicket as Narine was sent back to the dressing room after scoring 44 runs off just 26 balls. Rasikh Salam took this wicket on the last ball.
In the 11th over, Rahane was sent back to the pavilion after scoring 56 runs with the help of six fours and four sixes in his innings.
Vice-captain Venkatesh Iyer came out to bat next but was sent back after scoring just six runs. He was dismissed by Krunal Pandya in the 13th over when the team score was 125.
Two runs were scored before Rinku Singh was dismissed in the 15th over on the bowling of Krunal Pandya. The next wicket fell at the score of 150 as Andre Russell was dismissed in the 16th over by Suyash Sharma.
Angkrish Raghuvanshi was dismissed in the 19th over after scoring 30 runs from 22 balls on the bowling of Yash Dayal.
In the last over, KKR lost one more wicket as Harshit Rana when the team score was 173. The Ajinkya Rahane-led side finished the first innings at 174 runs with the loss of eight wickets.
The pick of the bowlers for the visitors was Krunal Pandya, who snapped three wickets in his spell of four overs, where he conceded 29 runs.
Josh Hazelwood took two wickets in his four overs, giving away 22. Yash Dayal, Rasikh Salam, and Suyash Sharma bagged one wicket each in their respective spells.
KKR will look to bounce back quickly as they prepare to face Rajasthan Royals in Guwahati on Wednesday.