Kolkata Knight Riders head coach Chandrakant Pandit lavished praise on in-form skipper Ajinkya Rahane, 36, for shouldering both responsibilities — as leader and top-order batsman — perfectly. 

Rahane has led the defending champions to three wins in their first six IPL-18 matches so far, contributing a couple of half-centuries en route to emerge as the team’s leading scorer with 204 runs at a strike rate of 154.54.