 "Ajinkya Rahane slammed the Eden Gardens pitch after loss against LSG. Image: BCCI")
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) skipper Ajinkya Rahane didn’t mince words after his team’s four-run defeat to Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in a run-fest at Eden Gardens on Tuesday. Rahane took a subtle dig at the Eden pitch and its curator, Sujan Mukherjee, while reigniting the debate over ‘home advantage’ in the IPL 2025 season.
On a night when over 470 runs were scored, KKR’s chase of 239 came extremely close but fell short, as the LSG spinners held their nerve under pressure. While praising his team’s fight, Rahane couldn’t hide his frustration about the conditions on offer at the iconic venue in Kolkata.
“Firstly, there was no help for the spinners, let me clear that,” Rahane said bluntly after the loss, KKR’s second in three home games this season.
KKR’s spin duo of Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy went wicketless and expensive, while LSG’s Ravi Bishnoi and Digvesh Rathi shared two wickets between them but they also went for too many runs.
Rahane’s veiled dig at Eden Gardens pitch curator
Talking about the pitch, Rahane touched upon the controversy involving Eden’s pitch curator Sujan Mukherjee, who made headlines for allegedly denying KKR a say over pitch preparations.
“Aap logon ne bahut usko yeh kar diya hai. Toh agar main abhi kuch bolunga na, toh bawal ho jayega. Jo hamare curator hai, unko bahut publicity mila. I think he’s happy with that publicity.”
(Our curator has gotten a lot of publicity. I think he’s happy with that. You guys have hyped it up so much. If I say anything now, it’ll become a controversy)
Other franchises, including Chennai Super Kings and LSG themselves, have echoed similar concerns this season. Even LSG mentor Zaheer Khan had recently quipped that the Ekana pitch seemed to be curated by Punjab Kings staff after their low-scoring clash.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsOn Tuesday, KKR nearly pulled off a heist thanks to a vintage Rahane knock, a 35-ball 61. He and Sunil Narine (30 off 13) unleashed mayhem during the powerplay, racing to 90/1 in six overs, KKR’s best start since 2017.
But once Rahane fell in the 13th over, the chase unraveled. KKR went from 162/3 to 177/6, losing four wickets in 15 balls as LSG’s bowlers tightened the screws in death overs.