RCB Thrashes KKR By 7 Wickets In IPL Opener: The Royal Challengers Bengaluru thrash defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders in the opening match is IPL 2025 as Virat Kohli emerges as a match winner for his side.
KKR vs RCB was match 1 of the 2025 season of the Indian Premier League as the 2024 season hosted the Royal Challengers at their home ground of Eden Gardens, Kolkata.
RCB Thrashes KKR By 7 Wickets In IPL Opener
It was the visitors who won the toss and decided to bat first. The move seemed to have paid off, as in the very first over of the game, Josh Hazelwood dismissed Knight Riders opener Quinton de Kock.
However, following that wicket, KKR took the game to RCB as Sunil Narine, along with captain Ajinkya Rahane, started smacking the ball all over the ground.
The two built a 103-run partnership in about nine overs. By the time Narine got out for 44 off 26, Kolkata was cruising at 107/2 in 10 overs with a total of 200 well in site. That was until it all started going wrong.
Rahane departed soon after, and so Di’s Venkatesh Iyer after being foxed by Krunal Pandya. KKR’s middle order, which is supposed to be devastating, faltered under Bengaluru’s bowling with Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, and Ramandeep Singh failed to score big runs.
By the time Kolkata Knight Riders’s 20 overs concluded, they only managed to score 174/8, with skipper Ajinkya Rahane being their top scorer with 56 off 31. Krunal Pandya bowled a solid spell of 3/29 in four.
RCB came out to bat with one track mind – attack… attack… attack. The opening pair of Phil Salt and Virat Kohli came out with all guns blazing, scoring over 50 in four overs and 80 in the powerplay.
The two stitched together a 95 within nine overs. By the time Salt got out for 56 off 31, the match seemed to have already tilted in the Royal Challengers’ favour.
Devdutt Padikkal played a run a ball 10 before capstan Rajat Patidar came in to end the match, which he all but did, scoring a blistering 34 off 16 getting out a few runs before the target,
The match was actually finished by Liam Livingstone, who scored 15 in 5 and finished the match off in style with a six as RCB won the match by seven wickets and 22 balls to spare.
For his magnificent inning of 59 off 36, Virat Kohli could have been named the Player of the Match, but the award instead went to Krunal Pandya for his fine spell with the ball.
The Royal Challenger Bengaluru will play their next game against the Chennai Super Kings on March 28. On the other hand, the Kolkata Knight Riders will face the Rajasthan Royals in their next match of IPL 2025 on March 26
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