RR vs KKR, IPL 2025 Highlights: Kolkata beat Rajasthan by 8 wickets after QDK special

Hello and welcome to the live coverage of the IPL 2025 clash between RR and KKR. Rahane was a happy man to get the first win under his belt as KKR captain. He had special praise reserved for Moeen Ali, who came in place for Narine today. Firstly, we bowled really well in the first six overs. The middle overs were crucial too – the way the spinners controlled things. Moeen got his opportunity and he bowled really well. This is a format where we want players to play fearlessly, we want to give them freedom. Credit goes to our bowling unit too who were always looking to pick wickets, especially Moeen. Not much, complete freedom from our side. Moeen is a quality player who has opened in the past. He couldn’t get going with the bat, but very happy with what he did with the ball. The challenge is to stay in the moment, and every game is an opportunity to learn. Moeen Ali talks after the game and says he was told in the morning to be ready for the match. He was happy to step up and replace Narine for the contest. “Yeah, it was nice. I have been practising well. I just try to get ready all the time, was told this morning to be ready. It is hard to replace Sunil but I felt like I did a nice job today. Yeah, these are the wickets you enjoy the most as an off-spinner. You try to open the batter up as much as you can, it was that kind of a wicket where you try and turn it as much as you can. Some balls turned, some didn’t. It was nice to have a wicket like that. Yeah, it has been really good. Good bunch of guys, amazing so far. Trying to be better at 37 years old,” said Moeen. Riyan Parag talked after the game and felt RR were 20 runs short in the end. He talked about his batting position and said he needed to be professional and follow the team’s orders. “Yeah, I think 170 was going to be a really good score. That’s what we talked about. I rushed a little bit. We fell short by 20 runs. That was the plan to get him out in the middle overs. When it came to getting him out, he played really well. Kudos to him. Last year, the team wanted me to bat at number 4. This year, they want me to bat at number 3. I need to be professional to adjust to any position.”

“We have a younger team as compared to last year. It’s about getting together. It’s about getting together in time and putting a good performance. We will take the learnings and take the mistakes and make sure that we don’t repeat them when we come in Chennai,” said Parag. And De Kock finishes it off in style. The plan to bring Jofra Archer into the mix failed as De Kock hits him for a boundary and two sixes to finish on 97 not out. KKR are off the mark with a convincing performance and with 8 wickets to spare. Royals have struggled for ideas in the first 2 matches and are missing some good options with the ball. Losing Chahal, Ashwin and Boult in the auction is hurting them badly. They face CSK next and the things aren’t getting easy for them at all. Well, the second ball rule has come into play here in the final four overs. This is the last throw of the dice for RR and Theekshana. KKR just used 2 spinners while RR have got Riyan bowling 4, Hasaranga and Theekshana 3 each and now Nitish Rana. Did they just use too many cooks in the kitchen? Sometimes you just need 2 to create the pressure and then the pacers to pick wickets. De Kock and Angkrish get a boundary each of Hasaranga as Parag is slowly running out of options here. He may need to bring in a seamer quickly and get a breakthrough. Otherwise, the game may well be out of their reach. Well, Rahane has the most runs on this ground and today was a great chance for him to come ahead of Moeen Ali. He could have set the tone early on and KKR would have been cruising at the moment. At this moment, they are but more comfort. Irfan Pathan seems to agree with us as well. This 👆Today was the best chance for Rahane to come as an opener, specially Sunil narine not being available. Well, someone has ran onto the field and comes to meet Riyan Parag. A small break in play and the RR captain is dispatched for a six in the very next ball. What a way to get to your fifty. De Kock has been sensational for KKR tonight and he just slogs Hasaranga into the crowd to get to his landmark in 37 balls. A googly from Hasaranga was too much for Rahane, who goes for slog sweep but skies it in the air and into the hands of Tushar Deshpande. RR will love it as they look to add more pressure and put the run-rate required near 10. Well, Rahane isn’t ready to back down and he gets a six off Theekshana who gives him a look. Theekshana thought he got De Kock leg before wicket, but KKR took a review and were successful with it. Riyan Parag has breezed through his 3 overs here and has been very economical. On a day when more was needed from him with the bat, Parag analysed things quickly and decided that he can play a role with the ball in Guwahati. He knows the conditions better than anyone else as it is his home ground. How he uses the likes of Hasaranga and Theekshana, along with Tushar Deshpande and Sandeep Sharma could decide the contest tonight. Will we see the same aggressive approach from Rahane? Quinton de Kock is scoring boundaries at the other end and maybe Rahane can build from the other end. Wanindu Hasaranga is on at the moment and De Kock got a boundary to get going in the over. And Rahane finishes it with a well-placed four. A rather anticlimatic end to KKR’s powerplay. De Kock was able to get a boundary off Sandeep Sharma, but the RR pacer was keeping things in check. Moeen Ali has now been run out after a big fumble and RR get a breakthrough. Ajinkya Rahane is in the middle and it will be interesting to see the approach from the KKR skipper. Well, De Kock is up and running, but Moeen Ali is still struggling at the other end. He needs some big shots coming in now for him. He has to replace Narine here and this is not way he would have gone. Riyan Parag is on for the 5th over and this could be the chance for him. Quinton de Kock is up and running for KKR. A boundary off the first ball from Archer and then hits a huge six to make it 13 from the over. And he begins the 4th over well, with another six off Theekshana. That’s a great over from Maheesh Theekshana. He conceded a boundary early and then bowled a tight line to ensure KKR have been tied down a bit at the beginning. A brilliant start from Jofra Archer. He was bowling with pace and that will give him a lot of confidence. He went past the bat a couple of times and conceded just 2 wides. Well, well. He is a Sunil Narine replacement in every sense today as Moeen Ali walks out to bat with Quinton de Kock to get the KKR run chase underway. Can he have the same impact Narine has at the top. He will be against former England teammate Jofra Archer. And a terrific delivery to start from Archer. The second one is a swing and a miss from Moeen as Archer is upping the pace.