RCB vs KKR Match Overview

The RCB versus KKR match on March 22, 2025 was hosted in the beautiful M.Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore as both teams fought to gain valuable points in the IPL 2025 season. Fans stormed the stadium in order to cheer for their favorite teams and the atmosphere was electric.

Team Compositions

Royal Challengers Bangalore(RCB)

RCB was packed with names of crickets greatest players and had a star studded squad. Under the captaincy of Kohli, he was supported AB de Villiers and other explosive opener Faf du Plessis. The pace attack was led by Siraj along with older spinner Hasaranga which made them dangerous on paper.

Kolkata Knight Riders(KKR)

Under Shreyas Iyer, KKR had a blend of balanced great squad. KKR also had Stong batters which came in the form or Andre Russel and Nitish Rana along with Sunil Narine’s crafty spin and Lockie Ferguson’s pace. With experienced dull and young enthusiasm, KKR looked a challenge to RCB.

Toss and Pitch Conditions

The Toss

The Kolkata Knight Riders won the toss and chose to field first. Captain Shreyas Iyer was of the opinion that the chasing side would have an advantage because of dew expected later in the night.

The Pitch

RCB was well aware that the surface at M Chinnaswamy Stadium was known for high-scoring matches and provided ample runs for both batsmen and bowlers with a fine equilibrium. Still, the bowlers would more than likely struggle early on in the game with a lot of pace and bounce.

First Innings: RCB Batting

Strong Start

Virat Kohli and Faf Du Plessis opened the batting for RCB and right from the first ball, they showed confidence. Du Plessis wasted no time in getting into his groove as he played some exquisite shots that greatly increased RCB’s run rate. Kohli on the other hand was rather composed and built the innings alongside Du Plessis as the duo laid a decent platform.

Key Partnerships

The partnership between Du Plessis and Kohli was arguably one of the best moments of the innings where they both added over 70 runs for the first wicket. With a more aggressive approach used by Du Plessis, who scored boundaries quite often, Kohli managed to bat along and score at a slower pace as he controlled the run rate.

Strike Rate and Scoring Breakdown

Kohli accelerated his pace after appreciating the bowlers’ variation and concluded the innings scoring 73 runs which was an absolute treat to watch, while Du Plessis scored an elegant 56 off just 38 balls with the help of 2 sixes and 6 fours.

Middle Order Collapse

Considering the strong foundation that was built in the beginning, RCB’s middle order collapse came as a surprise. The KKR bowlers started dominating RCB’s innings with Sunil Narine at the helm. After taking some heavy blows in the beginning, KKR got some important strikes to stop the momentum for RCB.

Key Wickets

AB de Villiers and Glenn Maxwell both got bowled out to Narine in the next few overs and they were struggling to get going. The pressure was huge on RCB going into the last few overs of the innings as they had lost a considerable amount of momentum.

Final Overs and Total

With the help of an explosive cameo by Dinesh Karthik, who scored 30 runs on only 12 balls, RCB was able to fight back a little towards the end. Ultimately they set themselves a decent target of 178 runs with a loss of 6 wickets in 20 overs.

Second Innings: KKR Batting

Chasing the Target

The Kolkata Knight Riders started batting in pursuit of winning the match in an attempt to reach a target of 179. The opening pair of the innings Iyer and Gill slowly began focusing on mitigating Siraj and Hasaranga.

Building Momentum

Both Iyer and Gill formed a partnership that surpassed expectations. With Iyer supporting Gill, they reached the target seamlessly. While Gill was playing patiently, Iyer put away some boundaries to Cooperate.

Key Partnerships

The opening partnership followed up by the gap for the second wicket between Iyer and Russell was the highlight of KKR’s innings. Once, Russell entered the ground he moved into attack mode immediately, accelerating the scoring rate. Under pressure by RCB’s bowlers, they took risks that paid off.

Middle Order Contributions

The required rate dropped significantly because of Russell’s big hitting who blasted a number of sixes. Russell’s 44 runs off 20 balls highlighted his all-around capabilities.

Crisis Management

KKR’s match had its share of drama while attempting to cross the finishing line. RCB’s bowlers took some important wickets and there was some momentum shift for RCB. At one stage, KKR was needing 15 runs off the last over which was reasonably challenging.

Final Over

Lockie Ferguson, the tall KKR pacer did not lose his cool at the crucial moments of the match. He managed to connect with the ball and guide it in such a way that KKR won the match from that point.

Match Outcome

Kolkata Knight Riders Won the Match in What Can Be Termed as an Extremely Entertaining Finish as KKR chased down the total in the most dramatic fashion. The score ended as KKR 180 for 5 in 20 overs, winning with a couple of balls remaining.

Player of the Match

The Game changing Player of the Match award was presented to Andre Russell after his outstanding showing in this match where he added lot of runs to KKR’s total while capturing some crucial overs with the ball.

Post-Match Commentary

Captains’ Takes

Both captains shared their thoughts after the match. Shreyas Iyer pointed out the need to stay composed in tense situations during the last stages of the chase. Kohli, on one hand, expressed his disappointment over the loss but lauded KKR for their great game, highlighting the value of KKR’s learned experiences for RCB in the remainder of the tournament.

Reactions from the Audience

Fans went wild with cheers for KKR in the stands, celebrating this entertaining win. There was a lot of action on social media, and many people appreciated both teams for their amazing efforts throughout the game.