'Hopeless defending Champions!': KKR's flop show continues

It's Match 39 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, and the clash between Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Gujarat Titans (GT) saw the hosts deliver a performance the Eden Gardens crowd will surely be disappointed with. Chasing 199 runs in 20 overs, no batter showed real intent apart from KKR skipper Ajinkya Rahane, who scored a fighting 50 off 36 balls. KKR ultimately lost the game by 39 runs.

The rest — Rahmanullah Gurbaz (1 off 4), Sunil Narine (17 off 13), Venkatesh Iyer (14 off 19), Rinku Singh (17 off 14), Andre Russell (21 off 15), Ramandeep Singh (1 off 2), and Moeen Ali (0 off 2) — collapsed like a pack of cards.

One decision that left many puzzled was bringing in Angkrish Raghuvanshi, the impact player, so late in the innings at No. 9, by which time the match was already out of KKR's control. The young batter has been in good form this season, making his late arrival at the crease all the more surprising. 

Defending champions hitting rock bottom

With another loss added to their tally, KKR have slipped to 7th place on the points table, with 3 wins and 5 losses from 8 games. The Shah Rukh Khan co-owned side still hold a positive Net Run Rate (NRR) of +0.212 and have 6 points to their name.

As for Gujarat Titans (GT), they continue to lead the standings with 12 points, having secured 6 wins and 2 losses from their 8 matches. Their strong form is reflected in an impressive NRR of +1.104. 

Fans left fuming

Watching the performance of the team that lifted the trophy last season left fans fuming. Many took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to slam KKR for their below-par showing in IPL 2025.

One said, "Blind slogging when the target is 112… strike rotation when the target is 199… Defending champions KKR for you."

Blind slogging when target is 112
Strike rotation when target is 199

Defending champions KKR for you.

— Azfaarᴷᴷᴿ🇵🇸 (@iamazfaar) April 21, 2025

Another wrote, "It's now become a pattern! We win one season and surely bottle the next one as defending champions."

It has now become a pattern! We win one season n surely bottle the next one as defending champions

— Dil KKR 💜 (@vivekz57) April 21, 2025

One fan declared, "The most hopeless defending champions ever!"

The most hopeless defending Champions ever!!!!
Venky is rightly the best batter in this team. Narine is our best opener. Players like Powell will swarm the bench!!!

— Rohit Joshi (@Rj_kkr_23) April 21, 2025

Another added, "KKR, the defending champions, look set to compete with CSK for the bottom of the IPL table. They’re playing like absconding champions."

KKR, the defending champions, look set to compete with CSK for the bottom of the IPL table pile. They are playing like absconding champions.

Venkatesh Iyer and ARus are white elephants this year. The middle has caved in. @KKRiders

— Sanjay Jha (@JhaSanjay) April 21, 2025

KKR vs GT: Teams

Gujarat Titans (Playing XI): Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill(c), Jos Buttler(w), Sherfane Rutherford, Rahul Tewatia, Washington Sundar, Shahrukh Khan, Rashid Khan, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj
Impact Subs: Ishant Sharma, Mahipal Lomror, Anuj Rawat, Karim Janat, Arshad Khan

Kolkata Knight Riders (Playing XI): Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Sunil Narine, Ajinkya Rahane(c), Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Moeen Ali, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakaravarthy
Impact Subs: Manish Pandey, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Rovman Powell, Luvnith Sisodia, Anukul Roy 

To stay updated on the stories that are going viral, follow Indiatimes Trending.