Quinton de Kock’s unbeaten fifty leads KKR to an 8-wicket victory over RR in a small run-chase

KKR won over RR by 8 wickets

On the footsteps of an unbeaten score of 97 runs by Quinton de Kock, Ajinkya Rahane-led Kolkata Knight Riders won their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 clash against Riyan Parag-led Rajasthan Royals by 8 wickets in Guwahati.
Winning the toss, Kolkata Knight Riders had opted to bowl first.

The innings for Rajasthan Royals saw a shaky start, as the team lost their key player Sanju Samson. The team was at 54/1 by the time powerplay ended. Then the team lost Riyan Parag and Yashasvi Jaiswal in quick succession, and by the time half innings were complete, RR was at 76/4 only.

Right after the half-inning mark, Rajasthan team saw another shock, as Nitish Rana got dismissed. Pressure was building up on the batting lineup, as they were struggling to open up much, and were playing defensively. 14 overs had passed, only then RR crossed 100-run mark, and were at 103/5. Then in the very next over, Shivam Dube got dismissed and RR were at 110 runs.

Rajasthan batting lineup then failed to pile up on much runs in the final five overs, as RR went from 110 runs in 15 overs to just 151 runs by the time their innings ended. It is worth noting that three players got dismissed in the final five overs.

KKR innings began on a slower note, as the team had scored only 40 runs in the powerplay. In the very next over, Moeen Ali got dismissed, run out. The team was then playing at a slower pace and by the time they were at half-inning mark, KKR was at 70 runs only.

In the next 5 overs, Quinton de Kock performed brilliantly as he completed his fifty, and pushed the team in a situation where KKR was needing 34 runs in 5 overs. Quinton de Kock kept his momentum, while rotating strike with Angkrish Raghuvanshi, eventually helping the team secure an 8-wicket victory.

Brief scores:
Rajasthan Royals- 151/9 after 20 overs
Kolkata Knight Rides- 152/2 after 17.3 overs