Kolkata Knight Riders earned one point after their match against Punjab Kings was abandoned due to rain at the Eden Gardens on Monday. But what baffled everyone was KKR skipper Ajinkya Rahane’s decision to bat first after winning the toss, when he was well aware of the fact that the pitch was under covers with more rain expected.
Rahane would have had the realisation when Xavier Bartlett dismissed Cameron Green and Finn Allen in his first over before rain stopped play, with KKR reduced to 25 for 2 in 3.4 overs.
Former Australia captain Aaron Finch said Rahane’s decision to bat first made “no sense”. Speaking on ESPNCricinfo, he also said: “The one thing you can do is control the controllables. Winning the toss and electing to bat after the wicket has been under cover for a day, when you know there is rain in the air, makes absolutely no sense. How do you arrive at that decision? That is an alarm bell for me. It isn’t just about being two wickets down for 25 runs; they shouldn’t have been batting at all.”
Finch suggested that such decisions are usually taken “when someone’s mind is a little scrambled”.
“When you make the wrong decision despite having all the information, it’s similar to a player being out of form. You can tell when someone’s mind is a little scrambled. To me, this is a classic case of either overthinking or completely ignoring the facts.”
Rahane in his last post-match press conference had hit back at his critics for questioning his strike rate, where the former India captain said that tose pointing fingers are “jealous”. Finch also criticised the KKR skipper for his choice of words.
“Stop biting back at everyone who criticises you,” said Finch. “You are a very good player, and you have a talented team. Continue to be aggressive at the top of the order. T20 is a hard game with many ups and downs. You scored 220 in the first game but lost the second; with your backs against the wall, the only way forward is to stay aggressive.”
Former India spinners, Anil Kumble and Ravichandran Ashwin were also surprised by Rahane’s “interesting thought process”, after winning the toss.
“I am surprised that Rahane won the toss and chose to bat first. On a pitch like this, where there’s some rain around, ideally, you would want to field first,” Kumble said on the JioHotstar broadcast during the rain break.
“When you know it’s going to be a rain-affected game, with an inexperienced bowling attack at your disposal, you choose to bat first. Interesting thought process. #ipl2026,” Ashwin posted on X.
