IPL: de Kock & Spinners Seal KKR’s First Win Of The Season

In the sixth match of IPL 2025, Kolkata Knight Riders took on Rajasthan Royals. Both teams came from defeats in their respective opening games and wanted to open their points tally in this match. However, it was the Kolkata Knight Riders which emerged victorious in the end and won the match by 8 wickets. The match was held at the Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati.

Toss: KKR won the toss and chose to bowl

First Innings: Rajasthan Royals struggled to score runs right from the beginning on this tricky pitch. A collective effort from KKR bowlers had never allowed RR batters to score big at any point in the game. Especially spinners Varun Chakravarthy (2/17) and Moeen Ali (2/23) took away the momentum with their economical spells during the middle overs. Only Dhruv Jurel (33) managed to stay deep into the game, but once he got out, no one could hold the momentum. As a result, RR made 151/9 in 20 overs.

Second Innings: KKR came up with a definite plan in chasing this modest total. Despite losing Moeen Ali’s wicket early, another opener Quinton de Kock (97*), with the help of Ajinkya Rahane (18) and Angkrish Raghuvanshi (22), successfully took his team to the victory shores quite comfortably. RR bowlers were economical, but the target was too small for them to defend. Also, RR captain Riyan Parag failed once again in utilising his bowlers well, which made things easy for the opponent team. In the end, de Kock comfortably helped his team in scoring 153/2 in 17.3 overs and missed a century by just three runs.

In a nutshell: The pitch in Guwahati was slow and was helping spinners a lot. KKR spinners Varun Chakravarthy and Moeen Ali used the advantage to the fullest and troubled RR batters with their tricky deliveries. Despite not having their star spinner Sunil Narine, KKR captain Rahane used his resources well and managed to restrict RR to a relatively low total. On the other side, after losing wickets early, RR used Shubham Dube as an impact sub. As a result, they lost a chance of getting another spinner on this slow track. RR tried seven bowlers to defend the total, but none of them were effective. To sum it up, KKR completely dominated the hosts in this one-sided game. They will be recharged by this compelling victory. On the other side, RR will be taken aback by another loss and have to reflect on their team combinations.

Scorecard: Rajasthan Royals- 151/9 (20 overs) and Kolkata Knight Riders – 153/2 (17.3 overs)

Up Next: KKR will play against Mumbai Indians on March 31. Rajasthan Royals will take on CSK on March 30.