New Delhi: Fifties from Venkatesh Iyer (60) and Angrish Raghuvanshi (50) went hard in the game as they set the base for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to set the target of 201 and beat Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) by 80 runs in the 15th game of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata here on Thursday.
Angkrish Raghuvanshi’s elegant half-century (32 balls, 5 fours, 2 sixes) alongside captain Ajinkya Rahane (38 off 27) set a solid foundation for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), while Venkatesh Iyer and Rinku Singh (32 not out off 17) launched a blistering 91-run partnership off 41 balls to propel KKR to a total of 200/6 – their highest of the season.
Vaibhav Arora set the tone with a brilliant opening spell, dismissing Travis Head (4) and Ishan Kishan (2) in consecutive overs, finishing with 3 wickets for 29 runs from 4 overs.
Harshit Rana removed Abhishek Sharma (2), leaving SRH in deep trouble at 9/3 after just 2.1 overs. Andre Russell and Sunil Narine also contributed with a wicket each, reducing SRH to 66/5 within the first 10 overs.
Varun Chakravarthy finished the job, taking two wickets in consecutive balls and completing a stellar 4-0-22-3 performance as SRH collapsed to 120 all out in just 16.4 overs.
KKR bounced back to victory after two early losses, and their next match will be against Lucknow Super Giants on Tuesday.
On the other hand, SRH’s third consecutive defeat leaves them with a lot of work to do, as they face Gujarat Titans at home on Sunday.
Despite being reduced to 9/3, Nitish Reddy (19) fought back with some boundaries, and Kamindu Mendis (27 off 20) added some much-needed momentum, hitting Andre Russell for a pick-up shot over deep square leg. However, Russell struck back to dismiss Reddy, and Narine’s timely wicket of Mendis in the 10th over left SRH reeling at 66/5 at the halfway mark, effectively ending their chase.
Earlier, KKR’s new opening pair of Quinton de Kock (1) and Narine (7) once again failed to build a strong foundation, with both falling early after Pat Cummins opted to bowl first.
Rahane and Raghuvanshi steadied the innings with a mix of intelligent shot selection and calculated aggression. Rahane’s back-to-back sixes off Shami and Cummins helped KKR reach 53/2 by the end of the powerplay.
Raghuvanshi continued to impress with stylish drives and a superb reverse hit, reaching his half-century in just 30 balls.
Zeeshan Ansari (1/25) eventually dismissed Rahane in the same over Raghuvanshi was dropped on 43. However, Raghuvanshi couldn’t last much longer, falling to a remarkable forward-diving catch off IPL debutant Kamindu Mendis.
Mendis made an impact on debut, switching between left-arm spin to right-hander Raghuvanshi and off-spin to left-handed Rinku Singh, a rare occurrence in the competition.
After a brief lull, Iyer, KKR’s most expensive player (INR 23.75 crore), broke free with a powerful pull off a Simarjeet Singh beamer. Rinku followed up with three boundaries off Harshal Patel before Iyer launched into Simarjeet, hitting consecutive fours.
Rinku capped off the over with a towering six over long-on, and Iyer continued the assault in the 19th over, hammering Cummins for 4, 6, 4, 4 in succession, as KKR added 78 runs in the final five overs.
Questions were raised over Cummins’ strategy of relying solely on pace despite the variable bounce, as Mendis (1/4) was not given another over after his crucial wicket, and Ansari only bowled three overs (1/25). This strategy backfired, with Iyer and Rinku’s explosive finish proving too much for the SRH pacers.
