IPL 2026: Ajinkya Rahane gets emotional after KKR’s first win, praises THIS stars behind the victory

Ajinkya Rahane was visibly emotional after leading Kolkata Knight Riders to their much-needed first win of the IPL 2026 season against Rajasthan Royals at Eden Gardens on Sunday. The KKR skipper praised Rinku Singh’s match-winning unbeaten 53 and the bowlers for their fighting spirit as his team finally broke their losing streak in a tense contest.

Rahane calls it an emotional victory

Skipper Ajinkya Rahane echoed the sentiment, calling it an emotional and much-needed breakthrough after a poor run.

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“Really happy to be here. Feels really good. There were a lot of emotions during the game,” Rahane said, singling out Rinku and the bowlers for praise.

“I’m really happy for Rinku, Anukul (Roy) and Varun (Chakravarthy). The way Varun bowled… Anukul had a fantastic domestic competition.“

Also Read: KKR’s vice-captain Rinku Singh reveals mindset behind match-winning knock vs RR in IPL 2026

Rahane stresses need to improve batting

Rahane stressed the importance of game awareness and admitted the need to improve with the bat.

“It’s about reading the situation well. Cricket is a simple game. This victory will give us confidence. The bowlers are coming nicely together. Batting wise, we can still improve.”

He also lauded young pacer Kartik Tyagi for his clarity and confidence.

Rahane points out repeated poor powerplays

Reflecting on the team’s struggles, Rahane pointed to repeated poor starts.

“We’ve had a bad powerplay for the last three games. Sometimes I feel strike rate is overrated… this was a great escape for us. As a batting unit, we need to learn very quickly.“

Riyan Parag blames costly fielding errors

For Rajasthan, skipper Riyan Parag lamented costly fielding lapses that proved decisive.

“I thought it was a 170-run wicket, we fell 10 runs short. Errors from our side. We can’t be dropping catches, that cost us the game,” Parag said.

Rinku was dropped early in his innings.

He felt his side identified the right approach with spin on a helpful surface but failed in execution, especially in the latter half of the innings.

“There was a lot of spin on the wicket. I thought spin was the way to go. The platform was set, but the execution went wrong. We wanted to go hard in the last five overs, but that didn’t happen,” he added.

RR and KKR next matches in IPL 2026

Rajasthan Royals will next face Lucknow Super Giants on Wednesday, April 22 at the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow. On the other hand, Kolkata Knight Riders will take on Lucknow Super Giants on Sunday, April 26 at the same venue.