IPL 2025: Cheteshwar Pujara and Aaron Finch question KKR’s lack of purpose during their run-chase against GT

Aaron Finch, a former Australian cricket player, questioned the home team’s approach of not trying to dominate the opposition’s spin attack.

On Monday, April 21, the Kolkata Knight Riders lost to the Gujarat Titans by 39 runs at home at the Eden Gardens. In contrast to the visitors’ 198/3 in the first innings, they were only able to manage 159 for the loss of eight wickets in their 20-over quota. This was KKR’s fifth loss in the current season.

“To take it [spin] down, you must be determined. If your initial impulse is to run one and knock it into the leg side, you won’t be able to hit a six or a boundary if you’re not trying. The lack of intent was captivating, and you’re on a hiding to nothing,” Aaron Finch posted on ESPNcricinfo.

Cheteshwar Pujara, an Indian top-order batsman, was unsure if the KKR batsmen, especially Venkatesh Iyer, were told to hold back and avoid taking any chances during Rashid Khan’s spell.

“As a batter, there are moments when you think the circumstances are a little difficult. You simply want to knock it around, but when the coaches and support staff intervene during a break, you come up with a different plan, saying something like, “This is something which is not working, we are leaving too many runs behind.” Venkatesh didn’t perform the part he was supposed to, and I agree with that. However, was he also informed that he didn’t have to take on Rashid and that he only needed to knock around while he was bowling? “I’m not sure what the message was,” Pujara continued.

That batting performance was awful: Aaron Finch

The former Australian captain criticised KKR for playing so defensively in the second innings. He said there was no sense of urgency on the team’s part to win.

“After ten [overs], the game was done, right? They simply allowed the necessary run rate to spiral out of control. Seeing them merely attempting to knock it around was really odd. An extremely peculiar innings. Their goal going into the game was to avoid losing by 100 runs. “You know what, let’s get 160 and we’ll walk off,” was the prevailing sentiment. That will be acceptable to us. “That was a terrible batting performance,” Aaron Finch said.

Venkatesh Iyer, who came in at number four, only managed to score 14 out of 19. There was not a boundary in his knock. Ajinkya Rahane, the captain, led his team in scoring. After hitting 50 runs off of 36 balls, he was out. Moeen Ali, Ramandeep Singh, and Rahmanullah Gurbaz were all dismissed for single-digit scores.