Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) delivered a dominant performance, beating Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) by 80 runs in Match 15 of the TATA IPL 2025 at Eden Gardens, Kolkata.
After an early collapse, half-centuries from Angkrish Raghuvanshi and Venkatesh Iyer, combined with a brilliant bowling display, propelled KKR to a commanding 200/6. The Knight Riders then bowled SRH out for just 120, with Vaibhav Arora and Varun Chakaravarthy claiming three wickets each.
The match, a rematch of the TATA IPL 2024 Final, saw SRH captain Pat Cummins opt to bowl first against KKR skipper Ajinkya Rahane. Cummins made an early impact, dismissing Quinton de Kock in the second over, and Mohd. Shami followed suit by removing Sunil Narine in the third.
However, Rahane and Angkrish Raghuvanshi steadied the ship with a calculated partnership. Rahane, in particular, looked aggressive, and the duo added 81 runs before Rahane was dismissed for 38 (27) by Zeeshan Ansari, who struck with a brilliant reverse sweep dismissal caught by Heinrich Klassen.
Despite Rahane’s departure, Raghuvanshi continued his fine innings, reaching his second TATA IPL half-century, his first of the season. But just as KKR seemed to be back on track, Kamindu Mendis, making his debut, dismissed Raghuvanshi for 50 (32), with Harshal Patel taking a brilliant catch.
At 106/4 in 12.4 overs, KKR needed to rebuild, and Venkatesh Iyer and Rinku Singh took charge. The left-handers went on the attack in the final overs, plundering 78 runs in the last five overs to help KKR post a daunting 200/6 in 20 overs.
Iyer, with his explosive 60 off 29 balls, continued his love affair with SRH, having already scored two half-centuries against them in IPL 2024 (Qualifier 1 and Final). Rinku Singh remained unbeaten on 32* (17) to provide a strong finish.
Defending a target of 201, KKR’s bowlers came out with intent. Vaibhav Arora, the impact player for KKR, struck early, dismissing the dangerous Travis Head on the second ball of the innings. Arora had dismissed Head for a golden duck in the IPL 2024 final, and he repeated the feat here.
Harshit Rana then removed Abhishek Sharma in the very next over, and Arora added another to his tally by dismissing Ishan Kishan with a fantastic catch from Rahane. SRH were in dire straits at 9/3 after just 2.1 overs.
Nitish Kumar Reddy and Kamindu Mendis tried to rebuild for SRH, but Reddy fell to Narine, and Mendis was dismissed by Andre Russell. The wickets kept tumbling, with Varun Chakaravarthy joining the action, removing in-form Aniket Verma to leave SRH at 75/6.
Heinrich Klassen, alongside skipper Pat Cummins, fought back, with Klassen attacking Narine. However, Arora struck once again to dismiss Klassen, and Chakaravarthy took two wickets in consecutive deliveries, removing Cummins and Simarjeet Singh, leaving SRH nine down with just one wicket remaining.
Russell then wrapped things up, dismissing Harshal Patel to bowl SRH out for a mere 120, securing a resounding 80-run victory, the biggest margin of victory in terms of runs this season.
