IPL 2025 commenced with a bang, as Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) defeated Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by 7 wickets in the opening match.
Sports News: The IPL 2025 season began with a thrilling victory for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), who defeated Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by 7 wickets in the first match. In this exciting encounter at Eden Gardens, RCB's batsmen dominated, leaving KKR's bowlers with little chance. Virat Kohli and Phil Salt's aggressive batting made the match one-sided.
KKR posted 174 runs
After losing the toss and batting first, Kolkata Knight Riders had a shaky start. Opener Quinton de Kock was dismissed for just 4 runs, bowled by Josh Hazlewood. Ajinkya Rahane and Sunil Narine then steadied the innings with a brilliant partnership. Rahane, captaining KKR for the first time, scored a half-century off 25 balls and eventually made 56 runs off 31 balls before being dismissed. Sunil Narine also played a crucial innings of 44 runs.
However, after the dismissal of these two key players, KKR's innings crumbled, and the team managed only 174 runs for 8 wickets in 20 overs. For RCB, Krunal Pandya took 3 wickets, while Hazlewood claimed 2.
Virat and Salt's explosive batting
Chasing the target, RCB started aggressively. Phil Salt and Virat Kohli put on a magnificent 95-run partnership for the first wicket. Salt played a whirlwind innings of 56 runs off 31 balls, including 7 fours and 2 sixes, before being dismissed by Varun Chakravarthy. Devdutt Padikkal then departed for 10 runs, but Virat Kohli anchored the innings. Captain Rajat Patidar played a quickfire 34 off 16 balls.
Virat Kohli continued his excellent form, scoring an unbeaten 59 runs off 36 balls to guide his team to victory in 16.2 overs. His innings included 4 fours and 3 sixes. Kolkata's bowlers were completely outplayed; neither the spinners nor the pacers could make any significant impact. Varun Chakravarthy took one wicket, while Spencer Johnson and Harshit Rana also picked up a wicket each, but it wasn't enough to secure a win.
