Kolkata: Kolkata Cavaliers Cavaliers captain Ajinkya Rahane once again felt disappointed with the nature of the Eden Stadium and lamented the lack of help from the spinners after the team lost their second home defeat.
But the experienced activist carefully chose his words when raising the controversial topic of “family advantages,” saying any of his comments could trigger “bawal” (controversy).
On a night when Spin is expected to play a key role, Lucknow Super Giants crossed the defending champion with four runs, handing Rahane’s KKR to three home games this season.
“First of all, it didn’t help the spinning mill, let me know that,” Rahahn said after the game.
LSG released 238/3 before limiting KKR to 234/7. Rahane decided on a plan to beat KKR against his rival batsman and scored longer and he decided to bowl.
“They really used the boundaries well, bowled to a longer finish, I mean the longer boundaries, they did a great job and our bowlers tried it, but (Nicholas) Dekar Deerdan and Mitchell Marsh (Nicholas) were somewhere in between, their chances were very good, they took the opportunity, which was really good for them.
“It’s a lovely wicket, we’ve all seen it, scoring nearly 500 times on this track, which is hard for the bowlers, but they used the conditions again and really used the boundaries well.”
While Digvesh Rathi and Ravi Bishnoi’s LSG spin duo managed to pick two important wickets from their eight dungeons, their KKR rivals – Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy – returned Wicketless, who surpassed the Nine in nine games.
In fact, Narine didn’t even complete his full quota for four free throws.
This raises the inevitable question: Are there “family advantages” in IPL?
“Look, there is enough conversation.
When further pushed, he launched a cover-up attack on curator Sujan Mukherjee, who earlier said he was not paying attention to any home team requests.
“Jo Hamare curator Hai, Unko Bahut promotes Mila. I think he is happy with this publicity. Home advantage Ke Baare Mein Mein Aapko Jo Likhna Hai, Aap Likh Sakto, Jo Laga.
“If I have any concerns, I might communicate it to the IPL, rather than talking about it here.”
Several franchisees this season expressed concerns about the lack of typical “Home” advantages, with the Lucknow super giant joining KKR and Chennai Super Kings expressing frustration with the stadium conditions.
Even LSG’s mentor Zaheer Khan, in the lighter veins, joked after a game against the Punjab Kings, looking like the “Kings Curator” had Ekana Wicket ready.
As for his own game and the possibility of India’s comeback, Rahane would rather stay rooted.
“At the moment I really like cricket, first of all, playing for KKR and playing in Eden. For me, it’s all about staying in this moment, enjoying my cricket, enjoying my hits, and that’s all.
“I don’t want to move forward in advance,” the 36-year-old said.
