Ajinkya Rahane-led Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) took on the Pat Cummins-led Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the 15th match of the Indian Premier League 2025 (IPL 2025) on Thursday, April 3.
Kolkata Knight Riders won the match against the Sunrisers Hyderabad in a dominant fashion by 80 runs at the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
Also Read: “We need to be realistic”: Pat Cummins destroys SRH batters after loss to KKR
This game was really important for us – Ajinkya Rahane
KKR posted a huge score of 200/6 on the board after being invited to bat first, thanks to sensational knocks from Venkatesh Iyer, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Rinku Singh, and Ajinkya Rahane. Defending the total, Vaibhav Arora led the bowling attack and they bowled out SRH for 120 in 16.4 overs.
During the post-match presentation ceremony, the Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Ajinkya Rahane talked about the importance of registering a big win in the match against the Sunrisers Hyderabad. He said:
“This game was really important for us. WInning by big margin was crucial. Even we wanted to bowl on this wicket. When we lost two early wickets, wanted to consolidate till 6 overs – play with intent but play cricketing shots. And then when we have wickets in hand, guys down the order can get as many runs as possible.”
Happy with the batting unit – Ajinkya Rahane
Ajinkya Rahane expressed satisfaction over the batting performance of his team and said that they learned from their previous mistakes. He said:
“Happy with the batting unit. Last two games were not upto the mark for us. But we learned a lot from our mistakes. This is a great example for us as a batting unit. Rinku and Venkatesh – those guys can play brilliant shots. Ramandeep was sitting in the dugout, Dre was sitting and Moeen was also ready.”
Ajinkya Rahane further revealed that they had planned to play normally till 15 overs before going berserk in the last 5 overs. He also lavished rich praise on the KKR bowlers for doing a great job in the match. He said:
“It was about playing normal till 15 overs and take it on. Initially we thought 170-180 in the surface would be good. Slower balls were gripping. We had three quality spinners. Moeen, unfortunately, couldn’t bowl tonight. Sunny and Varun bowled really well. Credit goes to Vaibhav and Harshit as well.”
How did KKR perform in the previous IPL match against SRH?
Kolkata Knight Riders’ previous match against the Sunrisers Hyderabad took place at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, Chennai in the final of the Indian Premier League 2024. They delivered a near-flawless performance and bagged an 8-wicket victory with 57 balls remaining.
Bowling first, Mitchell Starc proved his worth in the biggest match of the season and provided KKR with a great start. He struck early with two wickets, including a sensational delivery to dismiss Abhishek Sharma. Vaibhav Arora sent back Travis Head for a golden duck, while Andre Russell, Varun Chakravarthy, Sunil Narine, and Harshit Rana ensured SRH never got going.
The collective effort saw all six KKR bowlers take at least one wicket each and they bundled out SRH for a mere 113 runs in 18.3 overs, the lowest total in an IPL final.
The chase was a formality, and KKR made it look even easier. Venkatesh Iyer hammered 52* runs off just 26 balls, while Rahmanullah Gurbaz chipped in with a handy 39 runs. They eventually completed the run-chase in just 10.3 overs in a one-sided final.
