In the sixth match of the 2025 Indian Premier League, Rajasthan Royals were asked to bat first by Kolkata Knight Riders. The innings began poorly for RR as Sanju Samson was dismissed early, and Riyan Parag, stepping in as captain, could not make a significant impact, scoring only 25 runs before falling to Varun Chakravarthy in the eighth over. Yashasvi Jaiswal soon followed, leaving RR struggling at 69/3 after 8.4 overs.

With Dhruv Jurel and Shimron Hetmyer still to come, RR made an unexpected choice by promoting Wanindu Hasaranga to the No. 5 position, ahead of their usual finishers. The Sri Lankan all-rounder, making his season debut in the IPL, was expected to take on the spinners aggressively.

KKR's spinners, Chakravarthy and Moeen Ali, were in play, and RR's strategy was evident: to avoid having two left-handed batsmen at the crease simultaneously and to safeguard their key hitters, including Hetmyer. Hasaranga's impressive T20 strike rate of 152 against spinners appeared to be RR's solution to counter KKR’s spin attack.

Unfortunately, the strategy did not yield the desired results. Hasaranga was dismissed for just four runs off four balls after attempting a slog against Chakravarthy, failing to execute the intended plan. Nevertheless, Rajasthan might argue that the promotion did not significantly harm their chances, as it consumed four balls from the spinners' quota, thereby disrupting KKR’s momentum.

This decision faced considerable backlash from fans.

It left a lot of questions about the timing and logic behind sending Hasaranga up the order when better options like Jurel were available.

Royals restricted to 151/9

KKR's spin duo of Varun Chakravarthy and Moeen Ali worked in perfect tandem to weave their magic, as a disciplined bowling effort restricted Rajasthan Royals to a below-par 151/9 in their IPL clash here on Wednesday.

On a dry and sticky Barsapara pitch where the ball wasn’t coming onto the bat, KKR’s new spin combination -- brought together due to Sunil Narine's injury -- proved to be their game-changer.

Chakravarthy and Ali dismantled the Royals' middle order, picking up two wickets each in successive overs right after the powerplay, shifting the momentum in KKR’s favour.

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