"Small Moments Are Really Important": KKR Captain Ajinkya Rahane After 3rd Consecutive Win In IPL 2026

Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Ajinkya Rahane on Sunday lavished praise on his bowling unit for its consistency over the last few games, crediting it for restricting Sunrisers Hyderabad to a below-par total and setting up the seven-wicket win in an IPL 2026 match. Varun Chakravarthy (3/36) and milestone man Sunil Narine (2/31) played key roles in bowling out SRH for 165 in 19 overs as KKR chased down the target with 10 balls to spare to register their third successive win. "Very good game. The way we came back with the ball. Looked like they will get 190-200. It would've been challenging to chase. But credit to our bowling unit, especially the spinners. They kept taking wickets," Rahane said during the post-match presentation.

"Those small moments are really important, really happy with the win. The bowling unit has been doing really well in last 5-6 games.

"Credit to our bowling coaches - (Dwayne) Bravo and (Tim) Southee. Here and there you will go for runs, but as long as you're clear in your head, that's important. That win was important going into the break." Following their win over Lucknow Super Giants on April 26, KKR players took a short break to refresh and reflect, using the time to regroup before their game against SRH.

"We had 2-3 practice sessions. It's all about being mentally fresh. Support staff has been doing really well. Even though we lost the first 5 matches, atmosphere was really calm," Rahane said.

For Chakravarthy, it was fourth successive match in which he took at least two wickets as was adjudged the Player of the Match.

Rahane said: "Really happy for him. He was always confident. Works really hard, great attitude. He's been bowling the tough overs." Chasing the total, Angkrish Raghuvanshi and Rahane (43 off 36 balls) shared a second wicket stand of 84 runs from 11 overs.

You just need to adapt: Cummins

SRH captain Pat Cummins said his batters failed to adapt after a strong start and ended up with a below-par total.

"Not our best day. We had a pretty good start, but then we weren't at our sharpest. Probably aimed for 200 and then 180, but it wasn't meant to be. You just need to adapt," he said.

"The first 8-10 overs were excellent, but they used the match-ups well and the second half wasn't good. It dried up and slowed down; we probably should have aimed at 180.

"The margins are small, we did show some good things, fought till the end, my over costing 27 probably made a difference, but we did have our moments and the fine margins went against us."

Just living my dream: Raghuvanshi

Raghuvanshi was dismissed in the 17th over with KKR on the brink of victory.

"Just happy that we won. When I was walking back I saw my coach shaking his head about the way I got out. Still things to work on. Just got very easy after the start Finn and Ajinkya gave us.

"When I bat with Ajinkya bhaiya, the communication is really good. Calms me down. When I was a kid I used to dream of this. Just me living my dream. So many stars to learn from. Wouldn't change anything about it," he said.

Raghuvanshi was dismissed when he looked to play an aerial drive over extra cover and was caught by Eshan Malinga off Shivang Kumar's bowling.

"I was trying to hit it straight back over his head. That's why I was disappointed. Maybe if I went inside-out, it would've been better. I was batting well in the nets. The way I got out in the last game, that didn't help." 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Ajinkya Rahane Kolkata Knight Riders IPL 2026 Cricket