Kolkata (West Bengal) [India]: A stellar bowling performance by Vaibhav Arora and Varun Chakravarthy powered Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to a commanding 80-run victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at Eden Gardens on Thursday.
How fast the night changes for the 𝙆𝙣𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨 💜#TATAIPL | #KKRvSRH | @KKRiders pic.twitter.com/lQOKURMPq5
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 3, 2025
The RuPay On-the-go 4s of the Match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad goes to Venkatesh Iyer.#TATAIPL | #KKRvSRH | #AskForRuPay | @RuPay_npci pic.twitter.com/6yf3XCjR0s
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 3, 2025
Big wickets. Brilliant spell ⚡️
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 3, 2025
🎥🔽 WATCH Player of the Match Vaibhav Arora's electric spell of 3/29 | #TATAIPL | #KKRvSRH | @KKRiders
With this win, KKR’s campaign is back on track, securing two wins in four matches and climbing to the fifth spot in the points table. Meanwhile, SRH finds itself at the bottom with just one win in four games.
SRH’s Struggles in the Chase
Chasing a challenging target of 201, SRH suffered a disastrous start, losing their top three batters—Travis Head (4), Abhishek Sharma (2), and Ishan Kishan (2)—within the first 2.1 overs to the pace duo of Vaibhav Arora and Harshit Rana. This left SRH reeling at 9/3.
Nitish Kumar Reddy and Kamindu Mendis attempted to rebuild, with Nitish attacking Vaibhav for two fours and a six in the fifth over. However, the partnership was short-lived as Andre Russell dismissed Nitish for 19 runs off 15 balls.
By the end of the powerplay, SRH stood at 33/3, struggling to gain momentum. Kamindu Mendis played a few attacking shots but fell for 27 runs off 20 balls while attempting a pull shot against Sunil Narine, reducing SRH to 66/5 in 9.3 overs.
Aniket Verma, SRH’s hero in the previous match, was dismissed cheaply for six by Varun Chakravarthy, worsening the situation at 75/6 in 10.4 overs.
SRH’s hopes rested on Heinrich Klaasen, but he too fell for 33 off 21 balls after hitting two fours and two sixes. With wickets tumbling at regular intervals, SRH was bundled out for just 120 runs in 16.4 overs.
Vaibhav Arora (3/29) and Varun Chakravarthy (3/22) were KKR’s standout bowlers, while Andre Russell (2/21) and Harshit Rana (1/28) provided valuable support.
KKR’s Strong Finish with the Bat
Earlier, KKR posted an imposing total of 200/6, thanks to a match-winning 91-run partnership between Venkatesh Iyer and Rinku Singh.
KKR had a shaky start after losing Quinton de Kock (1) and Sunil Narine (7) early, leaving them at 16/2 in 2.3 overs. However, captain Ajinkya Rahane and Angkrish Raghuvanshi steadied the innings with an 81-run stand.
Rahane smashed 38 runs off 27 balls, hitting four sixes and a boundary before falling to Zeeshan Ansari. Raghuvanshi continued his impressive form, scoring 50 off 32 balls with five fours and two sixes, registering his second IPL fifty.
At 106/4 in 12.4 overs, KKR looked uncertain to reach 200, but Venkatesh Iyer and Rinku Singh changed the course of the innings. Iyer, after a slow start, accelerated brilliantly to score 60 off 28 balls, smashing seven boundaries and three sixes.
Rinku Singh played the perfect supporting role, remaining unbeaten on 32 off 17 balls with four fours and a six. Their 91-run partnership propelled KKR past the 200-run mark. Iyer was dismissed in the final over by Harshal Patel, but the damage had already been done.
SRH bowlers struggled to contain the aggressive batting, with wickets shared between Pat Cummins, Mohammed Shami, Zeeshan Ansari, Harshal Patel, and Kamindu Mendis.
Match Summary
KKR: 200/6 (Venkatesh Iyer 60, Angkrish Raghuvanshi 50, Mohammed Shami 1/29)
SRH: 120 in 16.4 overs (Heinrich Klaasen 33, Kamindu Mendis 27, Varun Chakravarthy 3/22)
KKR’s dominant performance in both batting and bowling ensured a comfortable victory, putting them back in contention in the IPL 2024 campaign.