Kolkata Knight Riders have had a rough start to IPL 2026. They are still looking for their first win after three games and sit near the bottom of the table, with their only point coming from a rained-out match against Punjab Kings. The three-time champions, led by Ajinkya Rahane and coached by Abhishek Nayar, are under a lot of pressure as they return to Eden Gardens.
Their batting has looked shaky and flat so far, with the top order falling apart under pressure more than once. Angkrish Raghuvanshi has been the one bright spot, hitting fifties in back-to-back games, but the young wicketkeeper-batter is carrying too much of the load.
Against Lucknow Super Giants, KKR actually have a powerplay scoring rate of 11.29, which is the second-best in the league, but they’ve already lost six wickets in those opening overs. LSG, on the other hand, look much more comfortable, backed by solid momentum and Mohammed Shami's ability to dry up runs.
Against this backdrop, Rahane's words ahead of the game carry a lot of importance. Speaking ahead of the fixture, the captain explained how his relationship with T20 batting changed fundamentally after deep reflection, adding that the process of learning new shots took between one and one-and-a-half years of dedicated, often painful practice. He did not romanticise the process, openly admitting he got hit on his chest and stomach multiple times before the shots felt natural.
That candour tells a story about a senior cricketer who refused to accept a diminishing role and instead rebuilt his game from scratch. Rahane also acknowledged that earlier franchises asked something different of him, and that he always prioritised team requirements over personal expression.
“I have always been an instinctive player, an attacking player. But the franchises I played for earlier, my role was different. It's always been about the team for me, how I can contribute. Whatever the management asked at that point, it was about fulfilling that role to the best of my ability,” Rahane said on the sideline of the third season of Bengal Pro T20 League.
“Three-four years back, I sat down and thought about how I can grow from here and update my batting. I started working on a few different shots. It took me one to one-and-a-half years to develop a couple of them. I just kept practising and got hit on my chest and stomach multiple times. When you have that passion to improve, you automatically try to get better. The last few years have been really good for me in this format, and I’m really enjoying my cricket,” he added.
That selflessness now sits alongside genuine attacking intent, which explains his commanding 67 off 40 balls against the Mumbai Indians to open the IPL 2026 season. KKR's batting desperately needs that version of Rahane to return tonight, because without a settled, aggressive start from their captain, the fragility lower down the order leaves them dangerously exposed against a Shami-led LSG attack at its finest.
