In the IPL 2025 match on Monday, Ajinkya Rahane's Kolkata endured another embarrassing defeat at home against the Gujarat Titans. After failing to chase a modest score of 112 in the last match, Kolkata was set a target of 199 this time. Filled with renowned hitters, KKR crumbled like a house of cards in front of Gujarat's bowlers.
Looking at KKR's squad, they have a wealth of power hitters like Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Rinku Singh, and Venkatesh Iyer. The team invested heavily in them owing to their abilities. However, in terms of performance, these players' bats have remained silent. Let's delve into three players on whom KKR spent nearly 50 crores, yet their performances this season, including this match, have been disappointing.
Source: aajtak
First, let's talk about Rinku Singh...
Rinku Singh gained fame last season by hitting five sixes in an over to lead his team to victory. However, since then, his performance has taken a nosedive, scoring only 168 runs in 15 innings in 2024. This season too, he is more burden than boon for the team, managing just 122 runs in 8 matches. Even in this match, Rinku could only muster 17 runs. In the previous match against Punjab with a petite target of 112, he managed just 5 runs. KKR has spent 13 crores on him.
Source: aajtak
Andre Russell becoming a burden...
Andre Russell's performance echoes the saying - big name, small game. Across 8 matches, he has disappointed with just 55 runs to his name, scoring only 21 runs in this match as well and 17 against Punjab. KKR invested 12 crores in him.
Source: aajtak
Now, let's discuss Venkatesh Iyer...
KKR made their biggest bet on Venkatesh Iyer with an investment of 23.75 crores. However, in 8 innings, he has amassed only 135 runs, including 60 in one match, indicating consistent underperformance in others. In this match, he scored only 17, and 7 in the previous game against Punjab.
Highlights of the Match
On Monday, the Gujarat Titans handed a resounding defeat to the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by 39 runs. This thrilling encounter took place at the iconic Eden Gardens, Kolkata. KKR's skipper Ajinkya Rahane opted to bowl first after winning the toss. Riding on Gill's 90 and a splendid fifty from Sai Sudharsan, Gujarat set a 199-run target for KKR, who could only manage 158 runs after losing eight wickets.
Kolkata Knight Riders (Playing Eleven):
Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Sunil Narine, Ajinkya Rahane, Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Moeen Ali, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakravarthy.
Gujarat Titans (Playing Eleven):
Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (captain), Jos Buttler (wicketkeeper), Sherfane Rutherford, Rahul Tewatia, Washington Sundar, Shahrukh Khan, Rashid Khan, Sai Kishore, Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj.
