'Interesting thought process': Ashwin takes dig at KKR on batting first vs PBKS… with rain coming

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have had a poor start to IPL 2026, losing their first two matches, and their troubles continued in the rain-hit game against Punjab Kings (PBKS) at Eden Gardens on Monday.

After choosing to bat first under cloudy conditions, KKR lost Finn Allen and Cameron Green early, slipping to 25 for 2 in 3.4 overs. Captain Ajinkya Rahane and Angkrish Raghuvanshi were at the crease when rain stopped play. The call to bat first was questioned by Ravichandran Ashwin.




Ashwin criticised the decision to bat first, pointing out that rain had been forecast before the match and that KKR were playing with an inexperienced bowling attack.

“When you know it’s going to be a rain-affected game, with an inexperienced bowling attack at your disposal, you choose to bat first. Interesting thought process," Ashwin wrote on X.



The rain was expected around 8 pm IST and arrived at that time, stopping play. By then, KKR had already lost two wickets, with both Allen and Green dismissed by Xavier Bartlett.

The bowling unit included Navdeep Saini, Kartik Tyagi, Vaibhav Arora, and Anukul Roy. Senior bowlers Varun Chakravarthy and Sunil Narine were not part of the playing XI.

In rain-affected matches, teams often prefer to bowl first. Moisture on the pitch can help bowlers with movement and bounce, making batting harder early on. Reduced-overs games also use the Duckworth–Lewis–Stern method, which often benefits the team chasing.

In KKR’s case, the decision to bat first stood out more because the bowling group could have used the conditions early, with batters then chasing a revised target later in the match.
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