IPL: De Kock masterclass gives KKR eight-wicket win over Royals

Kolkata Knight Riders handed Rajasthan Royals their second loss of the 2025 IPL on Thursday morning (AEDT) in Guwahati, with South African import Quinton de Kock starring in the eight-wicket win.

RR were put in to bat first and began well through Yashasvi Jaiswal (29 from 24), Sanju Samson (13 from 11) and Riyan Parag (25 from 15).

However, after reaching 1/67 in the eighth over, wickets began to flow as they slipped to 5/82 in the 11th after Nitish Rana (8 from 9) and Wanindu Hasaranga (4 from 4) both failed.

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Dhruv Jurel (33 from 28) stemmed the bleeding, while Jofra Archer (16 from 7) provided some late pinch-hitting, but the suffocating spin of Varun Chakravarthy (2/17) meant Rajasthan could only manage 9/151 from their 20 overs.

Sitting as strong favourites across IPL betting sites at the halfway point, KKR began conservatively with just 41 runs off their first six overs.

Moeen Ali fell for an underwhelming five runs from 12 balls soon after, with captain Ajinkya Rahane making just 18 from 15.

However, de Kock made up for the failings of his top-order partners, blasting an unbeaten 97 off 61 balls to get Kolkata home with eight wickets and 15 deliveries to spare.

“Nice to get an opportunity and to make it count,” the wicketkeeper-batter said afterwards.

“Luckily we batted second so as a keeper I got to watch the wicket and I could adjust accordingly while batting. 

“I know the IPL is known for big scores, but I just tried to win the game for us.

“It was not the type of wicket for big scores, the ball was turning and stopping. It wasn’t a flat wicket, it was a working man’s wicket.”

Just six matches into this year’s IPL, cricket bookmakers already have Rajasthan at long odds of +3300 to win the title in 2025.

KKR, meanwhile, are paying +1000 to retain their crown, sitting behind Sunrisers Hyderabad (+333), Chennai Super Kings (+400), Mumbai Indians (+600), Royal Challengers Bangalore (+700) and Punjab Kings (+750) at BetOnline.

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