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Followers go berserk as Virat Kohli and Phil Salt’s blistering knock takes RCB house towards KKR within the IPL 2025 opener

Sports EditorBy 4 Mins Read
Followers go berserk as Virat Kohli and Phil Salt’s blistering knock takes RCB house towards KKR within the IPL 2025 opener



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. Nevertheless, Sunil Narine and Rahane steadied the ship with a scintillating partnership. Rahane was in elegant type, smashing 56 off simply 31 balls, together with six boundaries and 4 towering sixes. Narine complemented him properly with a brisk 44 off 26 balls, sustaining a strike fee 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) had 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 circumstances, racing to 50 runs inside simply 22 balls. Salt was significantly aggressive, smashing boundaries at will and mentioning 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 proper 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 class and energy, that includes 4 boundaries and three sixes at a strike fee 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 had 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 model.

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 strengthened his standing as one in every of T20 cricket’s best finishers.

KKR’s bowlers struggled to include 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:

Additionally WATCH: Jay Shah, Sourav Ganguly, and Jhulan Goswami ring the bell to inaugurate IPL 2025 opener at Eden Gardens





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