IPL 2025: Moeen & Quinton Shine as KKR Cruise to Comfortable Victory
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Guwahati: No Sunil Narine, no issue. When was the last time the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) expressed such confidence? The ability to perform without the player known for his explosive batting and enigmatic bowling was crucial for the defending champions, marking their first victory of the season with an eight-wicket win.
Two seasoned players played pivotal roles in this success. Moeen Ali, with his bowling, formed a crucial partnership with Chakravarthy that disrupted the Rajasthan Royals (RR) innings. Following this, Quinton de Kock demonstrated that he still possesses the prowess that has earned him consecutive IPL titles and two centuries in the tournament. De Kock's strategy was straightforward—attack. His unbeaten score of 97 (with 8 fours and 6 sixes) ensured that the modest target of 152 was achieved in just 17.3 overs.
On a pitch that posed challenges for batsmen, De Kock quickly adapted to the length and showcased a variety of shots. He executed a pull shot off Riyan Parag, a straight drive to Wanindu Hasaranga, and hit both a pulled four and a six over fine leg from consecutive deliveries by Jofra Archer, ultimately concluding the innings with another six in the same over.
For bowlers in the IPL, the experience can feel precarious, particularly as the pitch begins to wear. Prior to Wednesday’s match, the average run rate during the Powerplay was 11.35. Thus, witnessing a break from this trend was a welcome change.
Ali faced difficulties in making contact with the ball during his initial four deliveries against Archer as the Rajasthan Royals began their defense of a total of 151/9. This score marked the lowest in IPL 2018, primarily due to the effective length variations and slower deliveries employed by KKR’s bowlers on a pitch that did not favor easy batting.
The challenging nature of the wicket was apparent from the outset when Yashasvi Jaiswal top-edged the first ball of the night from Spencer Johnson. Similarly, in the fifth over, he mishit a drive off Harshit Rana, which the bowler narrowly missed catching. However, it was in the seventh over, with the introduction of spin, that Ali and Varun Chakravarthy began to dominate the RR innings. Working in unison, they claimed a wicket in each over from the eighth to the eleventh and delivered 18 dot balls.
Ali managed to entice Jaiswal into a catch in the deep, but it was his delivery that dismissed Nitish Rana, a former KKR regular and captain, demonstrating that while he may lack the mystery of Narine, he certainly possesses comparable cunning. Nitish Rana charged at him, prompting Ali to adjust his line, reduce the pace, and allow his off-spin to dislodge the middle stump. This delivery was reminiscent of Vaibhav Arora’s ball that struck Sanju Samson’s leg stump after the batter had advanced down the pitch.
Between the 7.3 and 12.5 overs, there were no boundaries scored. The first four came from what was arguably the only poor delivery bowled by Chakravarthy, which Riyan Parag sent soaring over midwicket. Chakravarthy later exacted his revenge when Parag was compelled to swing at a delivery moving away from him, resulting in an edge that soared high enough for De Kock to comfortably remove his helmet and secure the catch.
By the time Dhruv Jurel struck a four off Ali in the 13th over, RR had lost five wickets and had yet to reach 100 runs after being asked to bat first. At that point, the decision to promote Hasaranga had not yielded positive results. From an overturned appeal on De Kock to five wides, nothing seemed to go right for the home team. As Archer demonstrated, the situation was dire.
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