IPL 2025 season kicked off with a high-octane conflict between defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at Eden Gardens. KKR, underneath Ajinkya Rahane’s management, started their innings with optimism however confronted early setbacks. Quinton de Kock fell cheaply within the very first over, caught behind off Josh Hazlewood for simply 4 runs. Nonetheless, Sunil Narine and Rahane steadied the ship with a scintillating partnership. Rahane was in chic type, smashing 56 off simply 31 balls, together with six boundaries and 4 towering sixes. Narine complemented him effectively with a brisk 44 off 26 balls, sustaining a strike charge of 169.23.
KKR reached 107/2 by the midway mark, however their momentum faltered after Rahane’s dismissal within the eleventh over. Krunal Pandya’s artful bowling dismantled the center order, claiming three essential wickets, together with Venkatesh Iyer and Rinku Singh. Angkrish Raghuvanshi contributed a useful 30 off 22 balls, however the decrease order struggled to speed up. Andre Russell and Harshit Rana fell cheaply, leaving KKR at 174/8 after 20 overs. Hazlewood (2/22) and Pandya (3/29) have been standout performers with the ball for RCB.
Virat Kohli and Phil Salt’s fiery opening partnership units the tone
RCB’s chase started explosively as Phil Salt and Virat Kohli opened the innings with intent. The duo capitalized on Eden Gardens’ batting-friendly situations, racing to 50 runs inside simply 22 balls. Salt was notably aggressive, smashing boundaries at will and citing his half-century off simply 25 deliveries. His knock of 56 off 31 balls included 9 fours and two sixes, setting the tone for RCB’s chase.
Kohli performed the right foil to Salt’s aggression, rotating the strike and discovering gaps effortlessly. By the top of the powerplay, RCB had amassed a powerful 80/0, placing immense stress on KKR’s bowlers. Salt finally fell to Varun Chakravarthy within the ninth over, however his contribution had already laid a strong basis for the chase.
Kohli’s masterclass: Unbeaten and unstoppable
With Salt again within the pavilion, Kohli took cost of the innings. The previous Indian skipper showcased his trademark consistency and calm underneath stress, anchoring the chase with an unbeaten knock of 59 off simply 36 balls. Kohli’s innings was a mix of magnificence and energy, that includes 4 boundaries and three sixes at a strike charge of 163.88.
Rajat Patidar joined Kohli on the crease and performed a blistering cameo, scoring 34 runs off simply 16 balls earlier than falling to Vaibhav Arora. By then, RCB have been already cruising in direction of victory. Liam Livingstone added ending touches with an explosive unbeaten knock of 15 off 5 balls, sealing the win in fashion.
A dominant victory for RCB
RCB chased down KKR’s goal of 175 with ease, ending at 177/3 in simply 16.2 overs—an emphatic seven-wicket victory with 22 balls to spare. The opening partnership between Salt and Kohli proved pivotal, whereas Kohli’s unbeaten knock bolstered his standing as one in every of T20 cricket’s most interesting finishers.
KKR’s bowlers struggled to comprise RCB’s batters on a flat pitch. Narine (1/27) was economical in comparison with others however lacked assist from his teammates as Vaibhav and Spencer Johnson leaked runs closely.
Additionally WATCH: Krunal Pandya’s bouncer units up splendid dismissal of Venkatesh Iyer in IPL 2025 opener
Right here’s how followers reacted:
Rajey 👑#ViratKohli𓃵 #KKRvRCB pic.twitter.com/myvldp9Lpb
— RAJAT MUNA (@RajatMuna) March 22, 2025
He got here, He noticed, He conquered and went! 🥶🔥
Captain Rajat Patidar the person 💪#RajatPatidar #KKRvRCB #RCBvKKR #IPL2025 #TATAIPL #TATAIPL2025 pic.twitter.com/y3MGA3JZI1
— Saabir Zafar (@Saabir_Saabu01) March 22, 2025
Buttler watching Salt and Livingstone smashing bowlers at this time 😭🙏🏻#KKRvRCB pic.twitter.com/z0ESMoGG3B
— LSG×Shreyansh (@mayank_stan) March 22, 2025
RCB BATTERS ARE NOW LITERALLY HAVING FUN WITH KKR BOWLERS 😅
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON RCB BATTING AND KKR BOWLING ORDER, DO LET ME IN COMMENTS SECTION#RCBvKKR #KKRvRCB #ViratKohli𓃵 #TATAIPL2025 #TATAIPL pic.twitter.com/PETcQAW2fW
— Aman Deep Saxena (@aman_saxena_03) March 22, 2025
A Fast fireplace from Rajat Patidar! ⚡
🏏 Rajat Patidar departs for 34(16) seeking to end it in fashion however holes out to Rinku Singh!
🎯 RCB are simply 13 runs away from an ideal begin to #IPL2025!#KKRvRCB #RCBvKKR #TATAIPL #TATAIPL2025 pic.twitter.com/bXGXAVbpgY— Yogesh Goswami (@yogeshgoswami_) March 22, 2025
Image Good🔥#ViratKohli𓃵 #KKRvRCB pic.twitter.com/m3FgW1z4Ua
— Ayush Baid (@ayushdbaid) March 22, 2025
Virat Kohli laughs when Liam Livingstone hits a 4 on the primary ball as quickly as he is available in.#RCBvsKKR #RCBvKKR #KKRvsRCB #KKRvRCB #IPL2025 pic.twitter.com/QLndsv1gFa
— The sports activities (@the_sports_x) March 22, 2025
This little park of life known as happiness” 😊 ❤️#ViratKohli𓃵#KKRvRCBpic.twitter.com/FFeG6WMPQt
— GAUTAM (@GautamKuma84) March 22, 2025
Bro wants Aura ❌
AURA wants bro ✅THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME 🛐🙏🏻#ViratKohli𓃵 #ViratKohli #KKRvRCB pic.twitter.com/vnvkQdvD3i
— REBEL AKASH🦖 (@akash__tweets_) March 22, 2025
Bought Actual 😶#RCBvsKKR #KKRvRCB #philsalt #ipl2025openingceremony pic.twitter.com/ABjX3V8DiE
— Widespread Sense Hai Ke Nahi ? 😒 (@Just_aotherguy) March 22, 2025
