Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) set a competitive target of 174/8 in 20 overs against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the opening match of IPL 2025. After being invited to bat first by RCB, KKR got off to a mixed start, with Ajinkya Rahane and Sunil Narine leading the charge while the RCB bowlers made timely breakthroughs.
Rahane, Narine Shine for KKR
Quinton de Kock’s stay at the crease was short-lived as he fell for just 4 runs, caught behind off Josh Hazlewood in the very first over. However, Sunil Narine counterattacked with a blistering 44 off 26 balls, smashing five fours and three sixes. Skipper Ajinkya Rahane played a captain’s knock, scoring 56 off just 31 balls, with six boundaries and four sixes, maintaining a strike rate of 180.65.
Youngster Angkrish Raghuvanshi also contributed with a quick 30 off 22 balls, but wickets kept falling at regular intervals. Venkatesh Iyer (6 off 7) and Rinku Singh (12 off 10) couldn’t convert their starts, while big-hitter Andre Russell managed only 4 runs before being dismissed by Suyash Sharma.
RCB Bowlers Make an Impact
RCB’s bowlers ensured that KKR did not run away with the game. Krunal Pandya was the pick of the bowlers, taking 3 wickets for 29 runs in his 4-over spell. Josh Hazlewood also played a crucial role, picking up 2 wickets for just 22 runs in his quota. Yash Dayal and Rasikh Salam took one wicket each, while Suyash Sharma was expensive but got the key wicket of Russell.
Final Overs Drama
KKR was looking strong at one stage, but RCB pulled things back in the final overs. Krunal Pandya’s breakthroughs in the middle overs, combined with disciplined bowling from Hazlewood, restricted KKR to 174/8. The team will now rely on their bowlers to defend the target against RCB’s strong batting lineup.
With RCB yet to bat, all eyes will be on their openers to see if they can chase down the target in the first match of IPL 2025.
