IPL 2025: RCB Storm Past KKR at Eden Gardens in Style
4 min read
A Grand Opening to IPL 2025
The TATA IPL 2025 season was kicked off yesterday, after the grand opening ceremony which included megastars like Shah Rukh Khan, Shreya Ghoshal, Disha Patani and Karan Aujla. The season opener match was played between defending champions KKR and the fresh energetic RCB team at the Eden Gardens stadium in Kolkata. Despite being the home ground of KKR, it was the fresh RCB team which stole the show.
Phil Salt and Kohli Lead the Charge
No matter which team, Phil Salt plays from, the spotlight always remains on him. He hammered a 56-run innings in just 31 balls against his former team KKR. If Phil Salt represented the team bold, then King Virat Kohli represented the team old at his vintage best. He played an unbeaten innings of 59 runs off 36 deliveries and ensured that KKR had no chance of coming back after Salt’s dismissal. RCB wasted no time in chasing the target of 175. The opening pair of RCB (Phil Salt and Virat Kohli) performed exactly in the same way as the explosive combo of Ajinkya Rahane and Sunil Narine did in the first innings of KKR. Salt went after the KKR bowlers from the very start. After observing the bowl and pitch movement for the first two overs, Salt started to take on the mystery spinner Vaibhav Arora in the third over. RCB’s explosive pair took the trump card of KKR bowling attack Varun Chakkravarthy out of the game with 21 runs in his very first over. The in-form Varun, struck back in his third over to dismiss the dangerous Phil Salt at 56.
Kohli and Patidar Seal the Victory
Although, Virat Kohli kept things going well under the control of RCB. From team old, Virat Kohli once again showcased why they are still the best whatever the format of the game. Alongside the newly appointed captain of RCB, Rajat Patidar, Kohli ensured that there were no hiccups. Kohli reached his fifty in just 30 balls in his trademark composed style. Rajat Patidar also made headlines with his cameo role in the final stage of the game and scored an explosive 34 runs inning in just 16 balls. The match was wrapped up with 22 balls to spare. RCB sent a strong message to the rest of the teams that with a fresh team they are a stronger force to reckon with in this IPL season.
KKR’s Middle Order Falters
Earlier in the first innings, KKR got off to a bit shaky start due to the loss of opener Quinton de Kock in the very first over of the game. However, the new captain Ajinkya Rahane (54) and Sunil Narine (49) stitched a solid 103-run partnership together for the second wicket. They laid the foundation for a 200-run total for the rest of the KKR team that was yet to bet. But the middle order of KKR disappointed the fans. In the first ten overs of the innings, KKR made 107 runs thanks to Ajinkya and Narine, but in the next 10, they only managed to score 67 runs. The middle order batsmen of KKR all were looking to hit big from the first ball that they were playing.
Krunal Pandya’s Game-Changing Spell
Krunal Pandya with his experience turned the game around by demolishing the middle order of KKR. Kunal showcased why he was a key auction pick from RCB management. He delivered a match-winning spell of 3/29 and gave major blows to KKRs dream of finishing big. He dismissed the dangerous middle-order batsmen like Venkatesh Iyer and Rinku Singh and ensured the scoring run in favour of RCB. Suyash Sharma on the other hand was expensive but towards the end of his spell took the wicket of Andre Russell to demolish the hopes of KKR. KKR lost five wickets for just 43 runs in the final stretch due to which KKR could only manage a total of 174 runs. This total proved far from enough against RCB’s power-packed batting order.
RCB Sends a Strong Message
With this dominant victory, RCB has made a strong statement in this IPL season in front of all opponents. This is for sure after the first game that RCB fans are definitely going to witness an exciting season.
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) – Batting Scorecard
| Batsman | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | Dismissal |
| Quinton de Kock † | 4 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 80.00 | c †Sharma b Hazlewood |
| Sunil Narine | 44 | 26 | 5 | 3 | 169.23 | c †Sharma b Rasikh Salam |
| Ajinkya Rahane (c) | 56 | 31 | 6 | 4 | 180.64 | c Rasikh Salam b Pandya |
| Venkatesh Iyer | 6 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 85.71 | b Pandya |
| Angkrish Raghuvanshi | 30 | 22 | 2 | 1 | 136.36 | c †Sharma b Yash Dayal |
| Rinku Singh | 12 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 120.00 | b Pandya |
| Andre Russell | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 133.33 | b Suyash Sharma |
| Ramandeep Singh | 6 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 66.66 | not out |
| Harshit Rana | 5 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 83.33 | c †Sharma b Hazlewood |
| Spencer Johnson | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 | not out |
| Extras | 6 | (lb 2, w 4) | ||||
| Total | 174/8 | 20 Ov | RR: 8.70 | |||
| Did not bat | Varun Chakravarthy |
KKR – Bowling Scorecard
| Bowler | O | M | R | W | ECON | WD | NB |
| Josh Hazlewood | 4 | 0 | 22 | 2 | 5.50 | 0 | 0 |
| Yash Dayal | 3 | 0 | 25 | 1 | 8.33 | 0 | 0 |
| Rasikh Salam | 3 | 0 | 35 | 1 | 11.66 | 2 | 0 |
| Krunal Pandya | 4 | 0 | 29 | 3 | 7.25 | 1 | 0 |
| Suyash Sharma | 4 | 0 | 47 | 1 | 11.75 | 1 | 0 |
| Liam Livingstone | 2 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 7.00 | 0 | 0 |
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) – Batting Scorecard
| Batsman | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | Dismissal |
| Phil Salt | 56 | 31 | 9 | 2 | 180.64 | c Johnson b Varun |
| Virat Kohli | 59 | 36 | 4 | 3 | 163.88 | not out |
| Devdutt Padikkal | 10 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 100.00 | c Ramandeep Singh b Narine |
| Rajat Patidar (c) | 34 | 16 | 5 | 1 | 212.50 | c Singh b Arora |
| Liam Livingstone | 15 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 300.00 | not out |
| Extras | 3 | (lb 2, w 1) | ||||
| Total | 177/3 | 16.2 Ov | RR: 10.83 | |||
| Did not bat | Jitesh Sharma, Tim David, Krunal Pandya, Rasikh Salam, JoshHazlewood, Yash Dayal |
RCB – Bowling Scorecard
| Bowler | O | M | R | W | ECON | WD | NB |
| Vaibhav Arora | 3 | 0 | 42 | 1 | 14.00 | 1 | 0 |
| Spencer Johnson | 2.2 | 0 | 31 | 0 | 13.28 | 0 | 0 |
| Varun Chakravarthy | 4 | 0 | 43 | 1 | 10.75 | 0 | 0 |
| Harshit Rana | 3 | 0 | 32 | 0 | 10.66 | 0 | 0 |
| Sunil Narine | 4 | 0 | 27 | 1 | 6.75 | 0 | 0 |
