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“I’ll take the blame”: Ajinkya Rahane after KKR’s devastating loss

Kolkata Knight Riders’ skipper Ajinkya Rahane has shouldered the blame for his team's devastating loss to Punjab Kings on Tuesday in Chandigarh. Shockingly, KKR were unable to chase a modest target of just 112 runs, succumbing to a dismal total of 95 runs in only 15.1 overs. The turning point in the chase came when Punjab spinner Yuzvendra Chahal removed Rahane lbw. Rahane, on the other hand, departed without even going for a review. Meanwhile, a replay showed that the impact was outside off stump.
"Nothing to expect. You all saw what happened there. Pretty disappointed with the effort. I'll take the blame. As the captain of the team, I played the wrong shot even though it [the ball] was missing [the stumps]. But again, it started from there,” Rahane said in the post-match presentation.
“111 was pretty gettable. We batted really badly as a batting unit, and we take full responsibility as a batting unit. I thought bowlers did really well on the surface, restricting a strong Punjab batting line-up to 111."
When asked what he was planning to talk to his teammates about after this devastating loss, Rahane said that there were too many things going on in his head.
"At the moment, there are too many things going in my head. It is still early. As you all saw... pretty disappointed. It was an easy chase for us. We fought it out as a batting unit. Let's see. When I go upstairs, I need to keep myself really calm and then think about what to talk to the boys," he said.
"You still have to be positive. It's still halfway to the tournament. As a team, as a unit, we still have to be positive and keep a good brand of cricket. But at the same time, we would definitely like to address the stuff and move forward."
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