IPL 2025: KKR inconsistent batting may hurt their campaign. What’s ailing the eastern franchise?

IPL 2025: KKR have lost two out of three games – Are Kolkata Knight Riders’ struggling batters hurting the franchise?

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), the defending champions, have not had the best start to their title defense, losing two of their first three games. In the curtain raiser at Eden Gardens, they lost the plot completely as they kept losing wickets in heaps with the bat before RCB successfully downed the total of 175 in mere 16 overs.

Then, after a comprehensive away win at Guwahati against the Rajasthan Royals thanks to a splendid knock from Quinton de Kock, KKR succumbed to yet another defeat. This time, they were completely outplayed, outbatted by the Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede. If we take a closer look at those two defeats, their batting has failed them.  

So, what has been ailing the 3-time champions when it comes to their batting department in this IPL?

No show by the KKR middle order
One of the major reasons for KKR’s defeat at the hands of RCB in the opening contest was their middle order. A strong start from opener Sunil Narine and skipper Ajinkya Rahane meant KKR amassed 107 in the first 10 overs. However, both these players departed in quick succession, and KKR experienced a collapse as they slid to 150/6 in the 16^th over and ultimately finished at 174/8.

The middle-order, including Venkatesh Iyer, Andre Russell, Rinku Singh, and Angkrish Raghuvanshi put together scored just 52 runs facing 42 balls. This dented their momentum quite badly, and KKR couldn’t recover on what was a great batting surface in Kolkata. 

Barring Raghuvanshi, KKR didn’t require the services of the rest of the trio in the second game against RR. Their third outing was even worse as KKR were bowled out for 116 with the four batters combinedly contributing just 51 off 50. 

Here are the individual numbers of KKR’s middle-order batters till now

What is more alarming is that all of them played for KKR in the last season and were either retained or brought at a hefty price in the auctions. Venkatesh Iyer was acquired at a staggering price of INR 23.75 Crores, but scored just 9 runs in two innings.

The other two retained players, Rinku and Russell, who were expected to finish games for KKR, made a mere 38 runs between them. Youngster Raghuvanshi got starts in all the games but hasn’t been able to convert them into a substantial score. These poor returns from the mainstays of batting have hindered KKR’s chances of posting a match-winning total on the board. 

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Top order concern
While the trio of Quinton de Kock, Ajinkya Rahane, and Sunil Narine may not have set the IPL ablaze by any means, their returns have been decent. It was Narine & Rahane who laid a solid foundation in the tournament opener, and Quinton de Kock’s unbeaten 97 sealed their only win of this IPL. 

One might argue that Rahane, being the captain, should play till the end, but he has looked fine in all three outings along with de Kock. The right-hander has a good SMAT behind him (469), and de Kock hasn’t looked rusty despite playing very little cricket nowadays. Narine is hit and miss with the bat, so his inconsistency is understandable. 

To conclude, it is high time the KKR batters, both top and middle-order, find consistency in the upcoming games. With the surfaces largely aiding batters in this IPL, these batters will have to get their rhythm back and start scoring significant runs that would keep their bowlers in the hunt. 

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