By Rohit - March 22, 2025 11:04 PMEden Gardens, Kolkata – March 22, 2025: The opening match of IPL 2025 witnessed a dominant performance by Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) as they outclassed defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) with a convincing seven-wicket victory at Eden Gardens.
RCB’s chase of 175 runs was a clinical display of power hitting and smart cricket. Openers Virat Kohli and Phil Salt set the tone early, putting up a solid foundation. Salt, facing his former franchise, took the attack to KKR bowlers, smashing 56 off just 31 balls with nine fours and two sixes. His fearless batting ensured RCB got off to a flying start.
Virat Kohli, the backbone of RCB’s lineup, continued his brilliance by notching up a well-paced 59 off 36 balls. His fifty came off 30 deliveries, showing his intent right from the start. Skipper Rajat Patidar then played a blistering cameo, scoring 34 off 16 balls before getting caught at deep mid-wicket.
Liam Livingstone provided the finishing touches, launching a six and a four off Spencer Johnson to seal the match in just 16.2 overs, giving RCB a strong net run rate boost early in the tournament.
Earlier in the evening, KKR, after being put to bat first, posted 174/8 in their 20 overs. Despite a strong middle-over burst from captain Ajinkya Rahane (56 off 39) and Sunil Narine (44 off 26), KKR faltered towards the end. Their last five overs yielded only 38 runs as RCB’s disciplined bowling restricted their power hitters.
RCB’s bowlers, led by Krunal Pandya (3/29) and Josh Hazlewood (2/22), ensured KKR never got the acceleration they needed at the death. Suyash Sharma also chipped in with the key wicket of Andre Russell, further derailing KKR’s finishing efforts.
RCB skipper Rajat Patidar was elated with the team’s performance. “It was a fantastic way to start our IPL campaign. Our bowlers did a great job of keeping KKR under pressure, and the way our batters responded was simply brilliant.”
On the other hand, KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane acknowledged the team’s shortcomings. “We started well with the bat, but losing momentum in the later overs hurt us. We need to finish better, especially with the firepower we have.”
With this emphatic win, RCB has announced itself as a strong contender this season. Meanwhile, KKR will look to regroup and bounce back in their next game. The IPL 2025 has just begun, and if this match is anything to go by, fans are in for a thrilling season ahead!
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) Confirmed Playing 11: 1. Quinton de Kock(WK), 2. Sunil Narine, 3. Ajinkya Rahane(C), 4. Venkatesh Iyer, 5. Rinku Singh, 6. Angkrish Raghuvanshi, 7. Andre Russell, 8. Ramandeep Singh, 9. Spencer Johnson, 10. Harshit Rana, 11. Varun Chakravarthy
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) Impact Players Manish Pandey, Anukul Sudhakar Roy, Luvnith Sisodia, Vaibhav Arora, Anrich Nortje
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) Confirmed Playing 11: 1. Philip Salt(WK), 2. Virat Kohli, 3. Rajat Patidar(C), 4. Liam Livingstone, 5. Jitesh Sharma(WK), 6. Tim David, 7. Krunal Pandya, 8. Rasikh Salam, 9. Suyash Sharma, 10. Josh Hazlewood, 11. Yash Dayal
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) Impact Players: Swapnil Singh, Abhinandan Singh, Devdutt Padikal, Manoj Bhandage, Romario Shepherd
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