RR vs KKR, IPL 2025: Makeshift spin twins & Quinton de Kock shine for KKR; What happened yesterday in Guwahati?

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) lodged their first points of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 after the three-time champions defeated Rajasthan Royals at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati on Wednesday. It was KKR’s first win in two matches, while Rajasthan Royals are yet to register a victory yet.

Both teams made one change each. While Moeen Ali made his KKR debut, replacing an unwell Sunil Narine, Fazalhaq Farooqi made way for Wanindu Hasaranga in the Rajasthan Royals line-up.

Rajasthan Royals chop & change

Rajasthan Royals made an array of changes to their playing combination. They brought in Sri Lankan spinner Wanindu Hasaranga replacing Afghanistan pacer Fazalhaq Farooqi on a sluggish surface. However, they erred by dropping Shubham Dubey, who smashed 34 off 11 against Sunrisers Hyderabad last Sunday. Shubham Dubey eventually came as an impact substitute and made just 9 runs, consuming 12 balls.

KKR come out on top without Sunil Narine

Sunil Narine, the three-time Most Valuable Player (MVP) winner and the only player to be involved in all three title-winning seasons of KKR didn’t miss a single game in the previous three seasons. His absence on Wednesday due to illness significantly improved Rajasthan Royals’ chance of winning at the time of toss.

Playing his first game for KKR, Moeen Ali combined with Varun Chakaravarthy, the most lethal spinner going around at this point in time, ran through the Rajasthan Royals middle-order. The collapse started when captain Riyan Parag went after Varun Chakaravarthy, just moments after hitting him for a six. Yashasvi Jaiswal repeated the same mistake against Moeen Ali and perished.

Moeen Ali, who will most certainly make way for Sunil Narine when the latter returns to the side, produced one of the balls of the tournament. His ripping off-break took a massive turn and comprehensively breached Nitish Rana’s defence.

From 67/1 at one stage, Rajasthan Royals were reduced to 83/5 as Rajasthan Royals lost four wickets in four consecutive overs to Moeen Ali and Varun Chakaravarthy. Moeen Ali finished with impressive figures of 2/23 while Varun Charavarthy bounced back with of 2/17 (4), after going for 43 runs in the opening game against RCB.

Dhruv Jurel, batting at no.6 and Jofra Archer at no.9, ensured Rajasthan Royals batted the full 20 overs. Dhruv Jurel’s patient 33 and Jofra Archer’s quickfire 16 not out off seven balls took Rajasthan Royals to 151/9.

Quinton de Kock takes KKR home

In reply, Jofra Archer breathed fire for Rajasthan Royals in the powerplay and troubled his England teammate Moeen Ali. At the other end, Quinton de Kock kept the scoreboard moving. The highlight of Quinton de Kock’s innings is the pull shot off Jofra Archer over deep mid wicket. He scored 34 of the 40 runs KKR scored in the powerplay.

The South Afrivan brought his vast IPL experience to the fore. He survived a few close calls against Maheesh Theekshana and went after Wanindu Hasaranga, the match-up in favor of the left hander. Quinton de Kock scored just 30 runs off 25 balls against the off spin duo of Maheesh Theekshana and Riyan Parag.

Against Wanindu Hasaranga, the KKR opener smoked the leg-spinner for 21 runs in nine balls. He finally finished the chase in style by smashing 16 runs in three balls off Jofra Archer in the 18th over and remained not out on 97 not out off 61 runs, comprising eight fours and six sixes.

What’s next KKR & Rajasthan Royals?

Rajasthan Royals will be hosting Chennai Super Kings in Guwahati on Sunday. Kolkata Knight Riders will be in action on Monday against the Mumbai Indians in an away encounter.