IPL 2025: RCB’s Phil Salt, Virat Kohli smash KKR in rematch of IPL’s first ever match | Ipl News

Synopsis: Virat Kohli-Phil Salt partnership looks ominous as KKR’s middle order falters after Rahane, Narine’s initial strong startThe IPL turned 18 with a streak of nostalgia as Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bengaluru locked horns in the rematch of the first-ever game in 2008. This time around, the results were flipped as RCB ran away with a 7-wicket win with the help of fifties from Virat Kohli and Phil Salt.
KKR vs RCB IPL 2025 HIGHLIGHTS
Kohli and Salt lead the way
Before the match at Eden commenced, Kohli shook a leg with KKR owner Shah Rukh Khan. the end of the night, Kohli had left the defending champions with their confidence shaken with his well-paced innings of 59 off 36. Kohli, playing his 400th T20I, initially played second fiddle to Phil Salt’s blering knock but had quietly raced to 29 off just 13 deliveries, smashing Spencer Johnson for back-to-back sixes on the way. He would slow down a bit during the middle overs governed the spinners, occasionally hitting big shots as he anchored the innings, bringing up his 50 in 30 deliveries. Captain Rajat Patidar would hold up his end of the bargain, scoring a quickfire 34 off 16 deliveries before Liam Livingstone finished things off with a 5-ball 15.

First fifty in for Phil Salt #RCB’s newest recruit with a fiery innings so far in the chase
Updates https://t.co/C9xIFpQDTn#TATAIPL | #KKRvRCB pic.twitter.com/cMQ5a56Juy
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) March 22, 2025
Earlier in the match, Salt gave Kolkata a glimpse of what they lost when he smashed Vaibhav Arora for 2 boundaries and a six in the 3rd over, handing RCB the kind of rapid starts that KKR were accustomed to. Literally forcing KKR’s hands to bring out Varun Chakravarthy, Salt would continue the blitzkrieg against his former team, bludgeoning the Champions Trophy winning mystery spinner for 21 runs off his first over with the help of three fours and a six. He brought up his half century in just 25 deliveries as RCB posted 80/0 at the end of powerplay. His blering innings would come to an end at the hands of Chakravarthy but not before handing the visitors a huge boost.
Rahane, Narine steady KKR ship after losing QDK early
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Captain Ajinkya Rahane replicated his domestic form as he dug KKR out of a hole after they lost Quniton de Kock early. As soon as he reached the middle, Rahane signalled his intent smashing two sixes and a four off the fourth over Rasikh Salam and then taking Krunal Pandya to the cleaners with back-to-back boundaries. The Knights who were just 9/1 after 3 overs raced to 60/1 at the end of powerplay as both Rahane and Sunil Narine pummeled Yash Dayal for 20 runs in the 6th over. The KKR skipper would continue in the same vein after the powerplay, reaching his fifty in just 25 deliveries. He would, however, go out on his sword, holing out to Salam at long leg off Krunal Pandya for 56 runs.
After QDK’s early dismissal, Narine took some time to come into his own before he broke the shackles in the 5th over, thumping Krunal Pandya for a huge six over wide long on. He would continue on with a couple more boundaries before targeting Suyash in the 9th over, thrashing the former KKR man for a six and a four.
The carnage commenced in the 10th over as Narine slammed Salam for a boundary to bring up KKR’s century before striking another six in the same over as the RCB bowlers looked hapless. His innings would, however, meet its end in the same over as he was caught behind for 44.

Spirited comeback with the ball Dominating effort with the bat @RCBTweets are up and away in #TATAIPL 2025 with a commanding win over #KKR
Scorecard https://t.co/C9xIFpQDTn#KKRvRCB pic.twitter.com/zs6fXmhYv9
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) March 22, 2025
Krunal Pandya leads RCB’s comeback as KKR middle order falters
Krunal’s RCB debut couldn’t have gone better as he was the architect of KKR’s downfall, taking 3 wickets for 29 runs in his allotted four overs. Initially put under pressure from Narine and Rahane’s big hitting, Pandya’s dismissal of the KKR captain was the turning point of the match.Story continues below this ad
After the dismissals of Rahane and Narine, all eyes were on vice-captain Venkatesh Iyer, who was brought back to the franchise for a whopping Rs 23.75 crore in the mega auction but he failed to fire, bowled Pandya for just 6 runs in the 13th over. The former LSG man would strike once again in the 15th over as he cleaned up Rinku Singh for just 12 runs.
Suyash bamboozled Andre Russell for just 4 with the big man completely misjudging googly and getting bowled. And KKR lost the plot thereafter, reaching a below-par 174 runs on a belter of a wicket.