KKR Spinners Dominate as Quinton de Kock Seals Victory with Unbeaten 97
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) romped home to an eight-wicket win against Rajasthan Royals (RR) in their IPL 2025 match with Quinton de Kock unbeaten on 97 from 61 deliveries. Chasing 152, the KKR made it in 17.3 overs to log their first tournament points.
KKR's pursuit was centred around De Kock, who demonstrated his class with a collection of well-placed shots, bringing an end to the match in style by scoring a four and two sixes against Jofra Archer. Only Moeen Ali and Ajinkya Rahane were dismissed among the KKR batsmen, but they did not contribute much as De Kock ran the show. His innings was a masterclass display of controlled aggression that turned out to be instrumental in KKR's facile pursuit.
Earlier, KKR's bowlers put on a show of strength, holding Rajasthan Royals to 151/9 in 20 overs. Varun Chakravarthy and Moeen Ali made the most of a turner-friendly pitch that was holding on to make their returns worthwhile with 2/17 and 2/23, respectively. Seamers Vaibhav Arora and Harshit Rana were also instrumental, taking two wickets each and making good use of variations to keep the Rajasthan batsmen under wraps.
The Royals' batting performance was slow as wickets kept tumbling at regular intervals. Yashasvi Jaiswal began well with 29 off 24 balls, and stand-in captain Riyan Parag contributed a brisk 25 off 15 balls. But neither was able to build on their start to score heavily. Rajasthan's top scorer was Dhruv Jurel with a battling 33 off 28 balls, but the rest of the batting order couldn't find any rhythm against KKR's strict bowling.
Rajasthan’s troubles began early as KKR’s spinners exploited the conditions to create pressure. Moeen Ali’s second wicket, dismissing Nitish Rana, left RR reeling at 82/5, forcing them to rely on their lower order to push towards a competitive total. Shubham Dubey, brought in as an Impact Player for Sanju Samson, attempted to revive the innings but fell to Vaibhav Arora. A couple of late blows helped RR reach the 150-run mark, but it was clear that they were at least 20-30 runs short of a tough total.
KKR's pursuit began on a positive note, with De Kock going hard and Moeen Ali supporting him. Once Moeen got run out for 5, Rahane replaced him but left without making any impression. In spite of the minor hiccups, De Kock went on undeterred, scoring his first fifty for KKR as he navigated the innings expertly. Boundaries coming at frequent intervals, KKR comfortably crossed the 100-run barrier.
When the target was approaching, Rajasthan Royals tried to check the momentum of KKR by conceding a second ball after taking a strategic time-out, but it mattered not. De Kock was fully in control and ended the game in decisive fashion with three straight boundary strikes.
This commanding performance not only earned KKR their first victory of the season but also highlighted the strength in their team, especially their bowling unit and De Kock's consistency as a match-winner. By winning this match, KKR made a loud statement to their rivals in the tournament.
