Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) cruised to an eight-wicket win over Rajasthan Royals (RR), chasing down 151 with ease. Moeen Ali, replacing the unwell Sunil Narine, joined forces with Varun Chakravarthy to stifle RR on a dry Guwahati pitch. The spin duo delivered combined figures of 8-0-40-4, restricting RR to 151 for 9. Dhruv Jurel’s late 33 off 28 balls pushed RR past 150 after their middle order crumbled.
Riyan Parag, captaining RR in his hometown, entertained briefly with two stunning sixes but fell to Varun for 18. Parag later contributed with the ball, running out Moeen Ali and bowling economically, but his homecoming ended on a disappointing note.
Moeen and Varun disrupted RR’s plans by triggering a collapse from 67 for 1 to 82 for 5. Wanindu Hasaranga’s promotion to No. 5 as a pinch-blocker backfired, as he miscued Varun to mid-off after scoring just four. The slump forced RR to bring in Shubham Dubey at No. 7, denying them an extra bowler for the chase.
Quinton de Kock then ensured KKR had no trouble with the bat. He dominated the powerplay, scoring 34 of KKR’s 40 runs, and brought up his fifty in 36 balls. Though Moeen struggled with the bat and was run out after a mix-up with de Kock, the South African batter took control. His unbeaten 97 off 61 balls, along with Angkrish Raghuvanshi’s 22*, secured KKR’s first win of the season.
RR’s 151 for 9, the lowest total this season, looked inadequate against KKR’s power hitters. Despite RR’s spinners leaking boundaries, KKR’s disciplined bowling and de Kock’s brilliance sealed a comfortable victory.
