KKR Spinners Squeeze Royals as Quinton de Kock Seals the Win

Spin Squeeze and De Kock Brilliance Power KKR Past Royals

No Sunil Narine? No problem for Kolkata Knight Riders. Stepping in for the unwell Narine, Moeen Ali slotted seamlessly into the XI and teamed up with Varun Chakravarthy to dismantle Rajasthan Royals on a sluggish Guwahati pitch. The spin duo returned combined figures of 4 wickets for just 40 runs in their eight overs, restricting the Royals to 151 for 9. So effective were they that KKR didn’t need Andre Russell’s services with the ball.

And they didn’t need him with the bat either. New signing Quinton de Kock led the chase with a sublime unbeaten 97 off 61 balls, securing KKR's first win of the season and handing RR their second consecutive defeat.

Parag's Homecoming Falls Flat

Riyan Parag, leading RR in front of his home crowd, provided some early fireworks with a pair of sixes, including a stunning one-handed effort and a clean loft over the bowler’s head. But his promising start ended on 32, skying a Varun Chakravarthy delivery to de Kock behind the stumps. While Parag contributed in the field — bowling four tidy overs and running Moeen out — it wasn’t enough to turn his homecoming into a winning one.

KKR Spin Duo Derails Royals

Moeen, who received his maiden KKR cap from team mentor Dwayne Bravo, struck early by removing Yashasvi Jaiswal for 29 — only Jaiswal's second dismissal against spin in the IPL since 2023. RR’s experimental promotion of Wanindu Hasaranga to No. 5 failed, as he fell cheaply to Varun.

The Royals stumbled from 67 for 1 to 82 for 5, losing all momentum. The collapse forced them to sub in batter Shubham Dubey at No. 7 instead of bolstering their bowling options, which came back to haunt them during the chase.

Varun and Moeen allowed just one four and one six in their entire spell — in stark contrast to RR’s spinners, who conceded 11 boundaries.

Late blows from Dhruv Jurel (33 off 28) and Jofra Archer pushed RR past 150, but it was well below par on a dew-soaked evening.

De Kock Dominates the Chase

Moeen's slow 5 off 12 might have derailed KKR on another night, but Quinton de Kock ensured it didn’t matter. After dominating the powerplay with 34 of the team’s 40 runs, he continued to accelerate, feasting on spin and seam alike.

Even after Hasaranga removed Ajinkya Rahane (18 off 15), the Royals couldn’t break through again. De Kock found an able partner in 20-year-old Angkrish Raghuvanshi, and together they put on an unbroken 83-run stand off just 44 balls to finish the chase with ease.

De Kock reached his fifty in style, launching Hasaranga for six, and followed it up with another big hit off Parag. With more runs to chase, he might well have reached a deserved hundred.

RR's 151 for 9 — the lowest total of the IPL season so far — looked out of place amid the high scores being posted elsewhere. For KKR, it was a night where everything clicked — even without some of their biggest stars.

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