In a dominant display at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium on Wednesday night, the Kolkata Knight Riders cruised to victory, chasing down the Rajasthan Royals’ 151 with eight wickets and a comfortable 15 balls to spare. For Moeen Ali, making his debut for KKR, the win was a testament to the team’s warmth and collective spirit.
“I love meeting new people and being in new environments,” Quinton de Kock remarked after his incredible unbeaten 97- the highest individual score for KKR in run-chases. “It is about finding your feet within the team. Sometimes the team accepts you later, but here with KKR they have accepted me with open arms, so it feels good.”
Ali echoed similar sentiments, describing the performance as an ‘all-round great performance, a great team win’ at the post-match press conference. His own contribution was crucial, claiming two wickets while bowling with remarkable control. “My job was to try and bowl tight as I can,” he explained. “I’m used to bowling with somebody who’s better than me and has more mystery,” he added while praising the prowess of Varun Chakaravarthy.
Ali was full of praise for de Kock, whose innings decisively sealed the match. He called it ‘an amazing innings’ and noted how the South African wicketkeeper made batting look effortless: “Quinton is an experienced player who has been around for a while now. It was an amazing innings, and he made the Rajasthan Royals bowlers, especially Jofra Archer, look like they were bowling quite slow.”
For Ali, the victory was particularly sweet after losing their previous game. “It’s just nice to get a win within your first couple of games so you don’t overthink things,” he said. The pitch, which offered something for everyone, played into KKR’s strengths, with Ali describing it as having ‘a bit of swing, a bit of seam’ and just enough spin.
Reflecting on joining a championship-winning franchise, Ali was emphatic with his words: “When you go to teams that have won the trophy, they know what they’re doing. They’ve won it three times. Everything is calm.”
With this comprehensive victory, Moeen Ali and Quinton de Kock have already shown they are perfectly at home in the Knight Riders’ winning culture. The side will now fly out to Mumbai for their third match of the TATA IPL 2025, against the Mumbai Indians on Monday, March 31.
(Edited by Pratyusha Mukherjee)
