Kolkata, April 3 (IANS) Pacer Vaibhav Arora (3-29) and spinner Varun Chakravarthy (3-22) starred with the ball while Venkatesh Iyer struck with the bat to help Kolkata Knight Riders defeat Sunrisers Hyderabad by 80 runs in Match 15 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, here at the Eden Gardens here on Thursday.
A strong batting display followed by a clinical bowling effort ensured KKR secured their first home win of the season while climbing to fifth place in the points table.
After being put into bat, KKR overcame early setbacks to post a formidable 200/6. The innings was anchored by Ajinkya Rahane (38 off 27) and Angkrish Raghuvanshi (50 off 32), who steadied the innings after early dismissals of Quinton de Kock (1) and Sunil Narine (7).
The momentum shifted drastically when Venkatesh Iyer (60 off 29) and Rinku Singh (32 not out off 17) unleashed a late-innings onslaught. Their big-hitting efforts helped KKR add 78 runs in the last five overs, propelling them to the highest total of IPL 2025 so far. Moeen Ali, despite being included in the XI, did not get an opportunity to bat.
For SRH, Zeeshan Ansari and Kamindu Mendis provided a brief resurgence in the middle overs with crucial breakthroughs, dismissing Rahane and Raghuvanshi. However, the SRH bowlers struggled at the death as Pat Cummins, Simarjeet Singh, and Harshal Patel bore the brunt of KKR’s acceleration.
Defending a challenging total, KKR’s bowlers came out all guns blazing. SRH got off to a disastrous start, losing Travis Head for four runs to Vaibhav Arora on the very second ball of the chase. Harshit Rana followed up with a brilliant over, dismissing Abhishek Sharma with a deceptive slower ball. SRH’s aggressive left-handed top three were all back in the pavilion within the first three overs, leaving them in deep trouble at 9/3.
Arora continued to impress, finishing with figures of 4-1-29-3, dismissing Heinrich Klaasen with a well-directed slower bouncer in a moment of high drama. Sunil Narine, celebrating his 200th wicket for KKR, bowled an economical spell, though he missed out on dismissing Klaasen due to an unspotted edge.
Chakravarthy (3-22) proved lethal in the middle overs, taking two wickets in the 16th over, including the prized scalp of Pat Cummins. Andre Russell (2-20) cleaned up the tail with a sharp caught-and-bowled effort as SRH collapsed for 120 in just 17 overs.
KKR’s middle-order found form, with Rahane, Raghuvanshi, Iyer, and Rinku Singh all contributing. Vaibhav Arora and Varun Chakravarthy led an exceptional bowling attack to dismantle SRH’s line-up. Sunil Narine reached the milestone of 200 wickets for KKR, further cementing his legacy.
Brief scores:
Kolkata Knight Riders 200/6 in 20 overs (Venkatesh Iyer 60, Angkrish Raghuvanshi 50; Mohammed Shami 1-29, Zeeshan Ansari 1-25) beat Sunrisers Hyderabad 120 all out in 16.4 overs (Heinrich Klaasen 33, Kamindu Mendis 27; Varun Chakravarthy 3-22, Vaibhav Arora 3-29) by 80 runs.
–IANS
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