IPL 2025: KKR registers a big 80-run margin victory over SRH at Eden Gardens

Kolkata Knight Riders’ Venkatesh Iyer in full flow against Sunrisers Hyderabad at Eden Gardens, Kolkata, yesterday. Pics/PTI

Sunrisers Hyderabad, beaten thrice by the Kolkata Knight Riders last season, bowed to the Knights again while going down by 80 runs at the Eden Gardens on Thursday. The big win will not have KKR climbing the league ladder, but will also help improve their sagging net run-rate.

Solid bowling show

Having put up a challenging 200-6, KKR's pacers Vaibhav Arora and Harshit Rana rocked the reply with three wickets within the first three overs. It would've been four had Andre Russell not dropped an easy catch at mid-on before IPL debutant Kamindu Mendis had opened his account. ‘Impact' substitute Arora removed the dangerous Travis Head in the very first over, Harshit pulling off a wonderful catch. It was all one way from there.

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Angkrish Raghuvanshi celebrates his 50 yesterday

The Powerplay produced a paltry 38, and with Russell removing Nitish Reddy in the next over, it looked all lost at 44-4. SRH never quite recovered, finishing on 120 in the 17th over as spinning duo Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy joined the party. Arora and Chakravarthy snared three wickets each with Rana, Russell and Narine helping themselves too.

Earlier, a late flourish saw the defending champions get to a challenging total, Venkatesh Iyer and Rinku Singh finally came into their own to add 91 for the fifth wicket off 41 deliveries. This, after Ajinkya Rahane and young Angkrish Raghuvanshi had put the KKR boat back on an even keel with a partnership of 51 at run-a-ball for the third wicket.

Venkatesh scored a 29-ball 60 with seven fours and three sixes while Rinku, celebrating his 50th outing with KKR, was unbeaten on 32, which came off 17 deliveries and was studded with four fours and a six.

Late surge lifts KKR

Put into bat, a couple of early wickets had pegged back the Knights, and skipper Rahane was again thrust into the rescue act, but the innings didn't quite take off till vice-captain Venkatesh and Rinku pressed on the pedal in those final few overs. The last six produced 87 runs.

KKR had begun on a promising note with Sunil Narine hoisting Pat Cummins' first ball for a six to wide long-on but Quinton de Kock fell in the same over, pulling one straight down the throat of of the deep mid-wicket fielder. Narine departed the next over, fishing outside off to a yorker-length ball from Shami and, at 16 for two in the third over, the script looked similar to the one against RCB in the opener here. However, Rahane took up the cudgels and Raghuvanshi followed.

The skipper scored a 27-ball 38 with four sixes and a boundary while Ranghuvanshi, dropped on 46, went on to score 50 off 32 with five fours and a couple of sixes.