RR vs KKR, IPL 2025: What was the Turning Point as Knight Riders maul Hapless Royals?

The elusive first victory of the season in IPL 2025 finally arrived for Kolkata Knight Riders in their clash against Rajasthan Royals on Wednesday (March 26).

A clinical performance from the defending champions rallied them back in the tournament as they secured a comfortable 8-wicket win over the Royals.

IPL 2025: RR vs KKR - As it Happened

The Kolkata Knight Riders bowled first and restricted Royals to 151 for 9. Although the pitch was on the slower side, the KKR bowlers did exceedingly well to put a leash on the star-studded RR batting. Varun Chakravarthy, Moeen Ali, Harshit Rana and Vaibhav Arora - all picked up two wickets each. For the Royals, Dhruv Jurel was the highest scorer with 33 runs.

In the run chase, Quinton de Kock led from the front and anchored the innings brilliantly to take KKR home. The South African scored an unbeaten 97 runs to help KKR get a stellar victory in Guwahati. Ajinkya Rahane (18 off 15) and Angkrish Raghuvanshi (22* off 17) also played key part in the run chase for them.

RR vs KKR: What was the Turning Point?

Varun Chakravarthy and Moeen Ali - KKR's Spin Duo

On a track which assisted spin, it was the spin twin of Kolkata Knight Riders who turned the match in their favor. Although Sunil Narine was ill and didn't play, his replacement Moeen Ali did an exquisite job. Moeen Ali and Varun Chakravarthy together stifled the Rajasthan Royals batters and got wickets at regular intervals. The England player got two, while the Indian star picked up a brace as well. The duo conceded only 40 runs with a combined four wickets in their eight overs. It was their scintillating performance which put a break in the Rajasthan Royals' momentum who were scoring at nine runs per over at the end of the power play.

Although the pitch was on the slower side, the effect they had on the Rajasthan players with wickets turned the match in KKR's favour. Riyan Parag, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Wanindu Hasaranga and Nitish Rana - four key batting pillars were their victims on the night in Guwahati.