IPL 2025, KKR vs SRH, Highlights: Rinku Singh and Venkatesh Iyer’s 91-run partnership, along with Vaibhav Arora’s 3/29, power KKR to victory over SRH. Top hits & flops from the game.
Brief Scores: KKR 200/6 (Venkatesh Iyer 60, Angkrish Raghuvanshi 50, Mohammed Shami 1/29) beat SRH 120 (Heinrich Klassen 33, Varun Chakravarthy 3/22, Vaibhav Arora 3/29) by 80 runs.
In the 15th IPL 2025 encounter between the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the Eden Gardens, the home side posted 200/6 in their allotted 20 overs. Venkatesh Iyer (60) and Rinku Singh (32*) put up a 91-run stand for the fourth wicket after Angkrish Raghuvanshi steadied the ship with a fine half-century.
In reply, Sunrisers made a tough start with three down for nine runs in 2.1 overs. They kept on playing the big shots to struggle at 75/6 in the 11th over. Heinrich Klassen (33) was the tiniest bright spot before they were blown away for 120 runs in 16.4 overs.
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Hits from KKR vs SRH game
Venkatesh & Rinku are among runs biggest positives for KKR
Coming into the game, Venkatesh Iyer made just nine runs in two innings in the IPL 2025, while only 29 runs came off Rinku Singh’s bat. The pressure was immense on both the left-handers to contribute against Hyderabad. After a steady 81-run stand for the third wicket, it was important for the middle-order batters to carry the momentum.
Both Iyer and Rinku took a few balls to settle down before unleashing the beast mode. The Uttar Pradesh batter nailed Harshal Patel for three successive fours. Venkatesh slammed Pat Cummins for three boundaries and one six to celebrate his half-century in just 26 deliveries.
The Madhya Pradesh batter cracked 60 runs in 29 balls, shouldering on seven fours and three sixes. Rinku, on the other hand, remained unbeaten on 32 runs in 17 balls. It’s a huge confidence boost for the KKR management to see their veterans firing.
Vaibhav Arora continues to impress
Vaibhav Arora was decent in the first couple of games for the defending champions. But his impact with the new ball against SRH was immense. After being nailed for a first-ball boundary, he sent back Travis Head on the very next delivery.
The late swing saw the Australia batter slicing it on the toe-end to get caught inside the 30-yard circle. Arora has now dismissed Head twice in three IPL balls.
On the very first ball of his second over, Vaibhav collected the wicket of Ishan Kishan, who smashed the ball straight into the hands of Ajinkya Rahane at covers. Later, he return for his final over to dismiss Heinrich Klassen with a slow delivery to finish with figures of 4/29 in four overs including a maiden.
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Flops from KKR vs SRH game
SRH’s top order continues to fail
Going into the IPL 2025, many predicted SRH putting 300 runs on the board in an inning. But their top order hasn’t been able to impress like the previous edition. Abhishek Sharma has failed in all four innings with 33 runs. Kishan has managed only four runs in the last three innings.
Even this evening, they had a chance to build a good partnership after Head’s wicket on the second ball. But both Southpaws failed for two runs each. This will be a huge concern for the management with three consecutive defeats.
Way Forward
Tough time lies ahead for the 2016 champions. They have hit the bottom of the points table with a net run rate of -1.12. Their next encounter will be against the in-form Gujarat Titans at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on April 06. That will be an early do-or-die clash for the side. It’s high time they assess their top order’s batting.
For Kolkata, it’s an excellent performance to climb to the fifth position from the bottom. They should look to carry the winning momentum for the home afternoon clash against the Lucknow Super Giants. The new aggressive but smart all-round performance will increase their confidence for the fixture.
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Top Twitter Reactions from KKR vs SRH, Eden Gardens, IPL 2025
Fine win for KKR recovering from losing 3 wickets in first 3 overs to post 200 and win by 80 runs. Good comeback after the thrashing by MI. SRH should be terribly disappointed with their performance. Let KKR off the hook when bowling, then played poor percentage cricket with bat
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) April 3, 2025
Top batting by Venkatesh Iyer 👏 #KKR
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) April 3, 2025
SRH facing typically second season pressure. Spotlight was on them to repeat last season's batting aggression. But with teams ready with their plan to tackle Head and Abhishek, it was always going to be difficult. Let's see if they have it in them to shine again.
— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) April 3, 2025
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