Called in as a last-minute substitute for the experienced Sunil Narine, who were feeling unwell, Moeen Ali claimed two crucial wickets to help Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) restrict Rajasthan Royals for a modest 151/9 in their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 clash in Guwahati on Wednesday.
Moeen Ali bagged 2-23 and with help from fellow-spinner Varun Chakravarthy (2-17) strangled the run-scoring. Harshit Rana (2-36) and Vaibhav Arora (2-31) also claimed a brace each as Kolkata Knight Riders restricted their opponents to a manageable total.
Moeen said stepping into the key role as a late call was not very difficult as he has been practicising regularly.
It was nice, I was practicing all this time. I was told this morning that Sunil (Narine) wasn't well and it's all about being ready. You try and spin the ball as hard as you can, some spin, and some don't. This is a really good bunch of guys, good coaching staff, amazing so far. Very, very balanced side, the overseas players are amazing, you're not guaranteed to play but you need to be ready for your chance:.
Chasing a total of 152, Quinton de Kock slammed a 61-ball 97 not out as Kolkata Knight Riders raced to an eight-wicket win with 15 balls remaining. Moeen Ali, opening the batting with QdK, could manage only five runs before he was run out. But the all-rounder found the going tough against his England teammate Jofra Archer.
I've not faced such fast bowling (from Jofra Archer) probably since the Ashes and he was probably too quick for me, he had his tail up. I tried to use my experience today on this pitch, to keep it simple, try and spin it, and stay on top of your game.
With De Kock hitting eight boundaries and six maximums, Kolkata Knight Riders opened their account in IPL 2025. KKR skipper Ajinkya Rahane said his team set up the match perfectly in the first six overs it bowled and then went for the kill in the middle overs.
The first six overs we bowled really and they were one-two wickets down. The middle overs were really crucial, with two spinners and Sunil wasn't well. Moeen got his opportunity and bowled really well. You want your players to be fearless in this format, we have explosive batsmen:.
The experienced former India batter gave credit to his bowling unit for making the win possible.
Credit to our bowling unit, they're always looking for wickets. Our chat with Moeen was to pick wickets and he did that. We gave Moeen complete freedom (while batting), unfortunately it didn't happen but he had a great day with the ball
Rajasthan Royals' skipper Riyan Parag said they fell short by around 20 runs. He also said that though they have lost the second match, they will take the learnings from it and try not to repeat the mistakes in their next match.
I think 170 was a reasonable score but we fell short by 20 runs. The plan was to get Quinny (Quinton de Kock) out early but he didn't so we shifted to containing them in the middle overs. We take the learnings and try not to repeat and come out against CSK with a fresher mindset.
Rajasthan Royals will next play Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at the same venue in Guwahati on Sunday while Kolkata Knight Riders will travel to Mumbai for a clash with Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium on the next day (March 31).
