Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and KKR (Kolkata Knight Riders) had a great opening clash in the IPL (India Premier League) 2025. RCB vs KKR was an interesting game to start with for multiple reasons. Firstly, because RCB has not won from KKR in the last two editions of the IPL.
Secondly, because KKR is coming as the champions, and thus, they would have the pressure to continue with their winning momentum of the last season. However, KKR lost on Saturday night, and it wasn’t event a close game. RCB was totally on top of Kolkata and this was definitely not the start KKR was looking at. Here are top three moments from RCB vs KKR that took the game away from Kolkata.
1) RCB vs KKR: Krunal Pandya’s Quick Wickets in the Middle Overs
Krunal won Man of the Match award in the opening IPL match of 2025 (RCB vs KKR). He took three wickets in the middle overs and only gave 29 runs from four overs at an average of 7.20. Krunal’s tight spell allowed RCB to come back in the game and lower the target to chase.
So while this isn’t only single moment, it is actually a collection of m9oments that Pandya created in the favour of RCB.
2) Josh Hazelwood Taking the Key Early Wicket
Josh Hazelwood’s early breakthrough and a tight four overs with an average of just 5.50 was just too good. Hazelwood even bagged two wickets. Pandya and Hazelwood likely changed the game for RCB (towards positive) in the second half of the first innings.
The moment which Hazelwood created is that he got the early wicket of De Kock, who could have scored runs pretty fast.
3) Virat and Salt Hitting Chakravarthy
This clash showcased that RCB was prepared to take on the mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy. Chakravarthy has been excellent for the Indian cricket team in the limited overs format much recently.
When Salt hit Chakravarthy for several consecutive boundaries in his first over, it brought the momentum towards RCB. From that point, it was a great partnership between Salt and Kohli which eventually took the game away from KKR.
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