Quinton de Kock made a stylish 97, while Varun Chakravarthy and Moeen Ali played starring roles with the ball as Kolkata Knight Riders defeated Rajasthan Royals by 8 wickets for their first win of IPL 2025.
KKR, the defending champions, lost the tournament opener to Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the Eden Gardens on Saturday but two of their new recruits stood up on a tricky pitch and their most trusted bowler roared back to form.
Quinton de Kock the hero!
de Kock had been dismissed cheaply against RCB but the South African ace was in formidable form on a slow pitch in Guwahati and his experience made the eventual difference in a game where both teams had the services of some really good spinners.
Moeen Ali was superb with the ball in hand but his painstaking stay at the crease was frustrating to watch. Mercifully for KKR and anyone else watching the game, Riyan Parag collected the throw from the deep to run Moeen out for 5 off 12 balls.
Ajinkya Rahane wasn’t as fluent as he was during his half-century a few days back but he still helped de Kock give the innings a bit of push before falling to Wanindu Hasaranga for 18.
KKR were a little behind the asking rate after the first half of the innings but the arrival of Angkrish Raghuvanshi at the crease hastened their bid for victory.
Quinton de Kock’s maiden fifty for KKR was soundly appreciated by the dressing-room. The southpaw wicketkeeper hit some sweetly timed sixes down the leg-side to thrill the crowd which had already seen some sterling spells from the slow bowlers early in the evening.
Chakravarthy shines after forgettable start
Varun Chakravarthy overcame an immensely forgettable opening game against RCB to send down 4 overs for 2 for 17. He picked the wickets of Riyan Parag and Wanindu Hasaranga, who was shockingly sent ahead of Dhruv Jurel and the dangerous Shimron Hetmyer.
Jurel (33), Yashasvi Jaiswal (29) and Riyan Parag (25) were the only ones from the top-order to make any notable contributions before Jofra Archer hit 2 sixes; but it was too little and too later as the Royals finished with a modest 151 for 9.
KKR next take on Mumbai Indians while RR play CSK.
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