Kolkata Knight Riders suffered an embarrassing 16-run defeat to Punjab Kings in the ongoing IPL 2025. Chasing 112 runs, the defending champions faced the wrath of Yuzvendra Chahal, who picked up a four-wicket haul to win it for Punjab.
Punjab Kings stunned Kolkata Knight Riders with a 16-run win at Mullanpur in the ongoing IPL 2025. The defending champions bundled the Shreyas Iyer-led side for 111 runs and were in complete control for the majority part of the time before Yuzvendra Chahal arrived at the scene and changed the complexion of the game. The KKR batters faltered and resulted in them being dismissed for 95 runs and with that, Punjab set the record for the lowest score defended in IPL history.
After the game, KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane noted that he was disappointed with the effort put in by the batting unit against Punjab. The three-time champions were 62/2 at one stage and were cruising towards a victory but things changed drastically for them. It started with his dismissal to Chahal, which later was revealed to have missed the impact. Nevertheless, Rahane didn’t opt for a review and things started going wrong for the team.
“Nothing to explain, we all saw what happened there. Pretty disappointed with the effort. I’ll take the blame, played the wrong shot, although it was missing. He wasn’t very sure (his chat with Angkrish after being given out LBW). He said it could be umpire’s call. I didn’t want to take a chance at that time, I wasn’t sure as well. That was the discussion,” Rahane said in the post-match presentation.
“We batted really badly as a batting unit, we take full responsibility. Bowlers did really well on this surface, restricting a strong Punjab batting lineup to 111. As an individual, you still have to be confident and positive. On this wicket, batting with full face (was better). Sweep was pretty hard to play. Keep the intent going but play cricketing shots. We were reckless and should take full responsibility,” the skipper added.
With only three wins to their name in seven matches, KKR are currently sixth on the IPL points table. They will next challenge Gujarat Titans on April 21 at Eden Gardens.