De Kock masterclass gives holders KKR first win, adds to Royals' pain
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Almost everything went according to plan for Ajinkya Rahane as he led defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to their first win of IPL 2025 in Guwahati on Wednesday. Opener Quinton de Kock played a blinder -- 97 not out -- to help KKR crush Rajasthan Royals by eight wickets with 15 balls to spare, a luxury in T20 cricket.
That was after Rahane's bowlers utilised the gripping conditions in Guwahati to restrict the opposition to a modest total of 151/9, the lowest of the season yet.
South African de Kock batted freely on his KKR debut, hitting six maximums and eight boundaries in a 61-ball innings. 'Impact sub' Angkrish Raghuvanshi (22 not out from 17) was happy being the sidekick in de Kock's blockbuster performance.
Jofra Archer continued his horrible start to the season that saw him set a record for the worst bowling performance (0/76) against SRH last week. After giving away just 15 run in his first two overs, the Englishman leaked 18 in his next three deliveries, comprising a pair of sixes and a boundary, with two wides in between. Those big hits got de Kock closer to his ton, but the Royals hadn't put enough on board for him to reach a well-deserved century.
The Royals will host Chennai Super Kings in Guwahati on March 30, and local lad Riyan Parag will hope to avoid a hat-trick of defeats in his final chance as captain. Wicketkeeper batter Sanju Samson should lead the Royals after that, when he is expected to be fit enough for wicketkeeping duties.
Tonight, Sanju couldn't continue his exploits from the SRH game, where he scored a brilliant 66. The club captain was castled (13) by a Vaibhav Arora trying to make room for an inside-out shot, only to be yorked by the right-arm pacer.
Dhruv Jurel's 28-ball 33 was the highest score by a Royals batter. English all-rounder Moeen Ali, who earned his maiden KKR start in place of the injured Sunil Narine, bagged two wickets (2/23); so did Varun Chakravarthy (2/17), Harshit Rana (2/36) and Vaibhav Arora (2/33).
Parag (25) looked promising but edged Varun behind, and Yashasvi Jaiswal (29) followed suit. Nitish Rana, Shimron Hetmyer, Wanindu Hasaranga and 'impact sub' Shubham Dubey fell for single digits.
Mumbai Indians' 155/9 in Chennai in the third match was the lowest total of the season until today. Chennai Super Kings chased it down in the last over. The conditions in Guwahati were similar, aiding slow bowlers, but RR's Sri Lankan spin duo of Hasaranga (1/34) and Maheesh Theekshana (0/32) couldn't make an impact.
Brief scores: Rajasthan Royals 151/9 in 20 overs (Jurel 33, Jaiswal 29, Parag 25, Chakravarthy 2/17, Ali 2/23, Arora 2/33, Harshit Rana 2/36) lost to KKR 153/2 in 17.3 overs (Quinton de Kock 97 not out)