Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) delivered a comprehensive display to initiate their campaign in the TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, securing a decisive victory over Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the ACA Stadium in Guwahati. Following a robust bowling and fielding performance that established a solid foundation, a batting masterclass from Quinton de Kock culminated in an eight-wicket triumph.
The KKR bowling unit, consisting of five bowlers, made vital contributions with the wickets, whereas the spin duo of Varun Chakaravarthy (2-17) and Moeen Ali (2-23) proved to be the most impactful. De Kock's exceptional unbeaten 61-ball 97, which included eight fours and six sixes, helped KKR attain the modest target of 152 in a swift 17.3 overs.
Yashasvi Jaiswal opened the batting with a boundary after RR were put in to bat by KKR. Jaiswal soon achieved a milestone of 200 fours in the IPL, prior to hitting a glorious 89m six over the mid-wicket region. Vaibhav Arora ended a 33-run opening partnership by uprooting Sanju Samson’s leg stump, but Rajasthan’s stand-in captain Riyan Parag sustained the momentum with a quick cameo of 25(15), which included three outstanding shots for six, one of them being an audacious one-handed smack over deep square leg. Thereafter, the Moeen Ali & Varun Chakaravarthy show unfolded. Ali - on his KKR debut, playing in place of the unwell Sunil Narine - initiated RR’s collapse with Parag’s wicket as Quinton de Kock impressively held onto a skier. Jaiswal was caught in the deep soon after, before the wickets of Wanindu Hasaranga and Nitish Rana followed to leave RR at 82/5 after 11 overs.
Dhruv Jurel put up a lone fight with a 28-ball 33, and coupled with Jofra Archer’s 7-ball 16, the duo kept RR in the game.
KKR undoubtedly entered the break as the happier side, having restricted RR to 151/9. While Arora and Harshit Rana also contributed with two wickets each, spells of 2-23 in four overs from Ali and 2-17 in four overs from Charavarthy - with a combined 18 dot balls - were the decisive factors. Recognizing the need for a strong powerplay on a two-paced wicket, De Kock got KKR off to a steady start, with the team scoring 40/0 at the six-over mark. RR’s spinners also slowed the scoring rate, and the home side saw the early departures of Ali (5 off 12) and KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane (18 off 15), but De Kock continued to excel. He completed a 35-ball half-century with a six over long-on off Hasaranga before hitting another maximum over mid-wicket off Parag, and KKR accelerated to 90/2 after 12 overs.
Angkrish Raghuvanshi steadied the ship at one end with 22 off 17, while De Kock continued to strike the ball with precision at the other end, guiding KKR closer to victory. With 17 runs still required off the last three overs, the South African smashed a four and two sixes off consecutive legal deliveries from Archer, securing a decisive victory for KKR with 15 deliveries to spare.
KKR jumped up to sixth place on the points table, while RR - with two losses on the bounce - were at the bottom.
Brief Scorecard: Kolkata Knight Riders 153/2 in 17.3 overs (Quinton de Kock 97*, Angkrish Raghuvanshi 22*, Wanindu Hasaranga 1-34) defeated Rajasthan Royals 151/9 in 20 overs (Dhruv Jurel 33, Yashasvi Jaiswal 29, Varun Chakaravarthy 2/17, Moeen Ali 2/23) by eight wickets.
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