IPL 2025 | We lacked game awareness, as it was all about rotating strike as a batting unit: KKR skipper Rahane

Mullanpur: Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Ajinkya Rahane admitted that his batters lacked "game awareness" in their defeat to Punjab Kings and reminded them that strike rotation is as important as hitting sixes in the T20 format.

The 16-run defeat in a low-scoring thriller here on Tuesday night kept the Knight Riders at sixth spot on the table with as many points after seven matches.

The Kings were all out for 111 but they came back strongly to roll over KKR for 95 to celebrate a fine victory.

"See, it was not a flat wicket. It had something for the bowlers. We had to grind it out. Even though sometimes you will have to play a maiden over in T20s, that's alright or play at a strike rate of 70 or 80, that's fine," Rahane said in the post-match press conference.

"It's all about rotating the strike as a batting unit. T20, I believe, it's not only about hitting sixes. Now, we are seeing most of the batters are going for big shots and they want to look good on the field.

"But it's all about reading the situation well, having that game awareness as a batter, and then taking the game forward. That's what I thought we lacked," he added.

Rahane was gracious enough to take the blame for the defeat on his shoulders but hoped that his colleagues would up their game in the next match itself.

"I take the responsibility (for the defeat) as a captain. But individually, I'm sure all the players, especially the batters, will think about their own game and improve in the upcoming matches.

"Half of the tournament is over, and seven matches have been played, and only half are left. It's always about coming back with good intent," he said.

The 36-year-old conceded that KKR had a collective failure as a batting unit and said they were not complacent after a smooth eight-wicket win over Chennai Super Kings in their previous match.

"I wouldn't say we were complacent or overconfident. It's a collective failure of the batting unit. It's not like Punjab bowled exceptionally well.

"I think we played bad cricket as a batting unit. When we lost those 3-4 wickets, it was only about taking your time and those even singles. That was important," he noted.

On benching England all-rounder Moeen Ali, who had a good game against CSK, Rahane said: "Moeen has been fantastic for us so far. It's very hard for me to tell Moeen that you are not playing today.

"Though he did really well in the last game, he has been understanding. He understands the situation. He understands the team dynamics as well. He has always been a team man."

We were confident: Wadhera

Punjab Kings batter Nehal Wadhera said the team was confident of pulling off a win despite getting bundled out for 111.

"We never were short of confidence. We knew that our bowlers were very capable of doing well here and the way Chahal, Arshdeep, Marco Jansen and (Xavier) Bartlett, playing his first game, the way they performed was really commendable.

"So I think all credit goes to the bowlers today. Even if the batters didn't have a great day with the bat, I think they really compensated for it." Wadhera lauded leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal for producing a game-changing 4/28 spell.

"You could just see from his stats today, picking up the four crucial wickets and despite the left handers being there, he got Rinku out there which was a really crucial wicket for us. I think the way he used his pace while bowling wide, slower balls and also mixing his pace. So I think this is what experience does to a bowler and he showed us all today and I think he won us the game," he added.

Wadhera also patted skipper Shreyas Iyer and Ricky Ponting for keeping the Punjab dressing room a spirited space.