Kolkata, April 3 -- Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) skipper Ajinkya Rahane, following his team's second loss in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, defended his performance by emphasising that his strike rate has been among the best since 2023.

Rahane suggested that the negativity toward him may stem from bias or even jealousy over his success.

A clinical performance from Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), which included quickfire knocks from Heinrich Klaasen and Abhishek Sharma and fine bowling performances from Jaydev Unadkat, Eshan Malinga and Nitish Kumar Reddy, helped them achieve their first win of the 2026 IPL, beating KKR by 65 runs at Kolkata on Thursday.

Playing his 200th IPL game against the SRH on Thursday, Rahane failed to make a ma...