KKR vs RCB, IPL 2025 Highlights: RCB thrash KKR by seven wickets, off to flying start in the season

Kolkata Knight Riders vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru LIVE, IPL 2025: Livingstone finishes it off with a six and a four. He has probably done exactly what will be expected of him all season here and finishes unbeaten on 15 in 5 balls. Kohli at the other end finishes on 59 in 36 balls, like Livingstone, doing exactly what he would be expected to do all season. It has all come together quite beautifully for RCB today and, conversely, fallen apart quite spectacularly for KKR.

Kolkata Knight Riders vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru LIVE, IPL 2025: He pulls it, timing is good but Patidar finds deep midwicket to precision. Rinku with the easiest catch he will take this season.

Patidar c Rinku b Arora 34 (16)

RCB 162/2 in 15.3 overs

Kolkata Knight Riders vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru LIVE, IPL 2025: Well Rajat Patidar is here and this is a sinking ship for KKR. Kohli gets off stike first ball of the 15th by Rana and then Patidar launches the second ball over cover for four. Then he glances the third ball over short fine leg for another four. Two runs off the next and then Patidar square drives the fifth for four. A late cut last ball for another four to finish the exhibition in that over.

RCB need 18 to win off the last five overs. This is a hiding for KKR.

Patidar on 30 off 14, Kohli on 58 off 35.

RCB 157/2 in 15 overs

Kolkata Knight Riders vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru LIVE, IPL 2025: There it is. He smashes the fifth ball of the 13th by Rana over cover for four and the entire Eden Gardens is chanting his name. This is KKR's home ground, remember. That's 56 half-centuries now for the great man in the IPL. He has reached 53 in 30 balls and then takes a single next ball to make it 54 in 31 at the end of the over.

Kolkata Knight Riders vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru LIVE, IPL 2025: Padikkal tries to take Narine on, the boundaries haven't come easy for him. He ends up slog sweeping the fourth ball of the 12th straight down the throat deep midwicket.

Kolkata Knight Riders vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru LIVE, IPL 2025: Right after he survived a mix-up. Length ball on middle and leg to end the 10th over which was Narine's first of the match, Padikkal flicks it away with impeccable timing and the ball careens away to the boundary between deep midwicket and long on. This was right after Padikkal slipped when turning back after Kohli turned down a second run fifth ball. He was a goner had the throw not been about 10 feet away from the stumps.

Kolkata Knight Riders vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru LIVE, IPL 2025: Edged, caught at short third and that's end of an incredible innings from Salt. He had slowed down significantly last few balls and had to go for it. Throws his bat at a leg spinner outside off by Chakravarthy, Johnson goes to his left and takes a good catch.

Salt c Johnson b Varun 56 (31)

RCB 95/1 in 8.3 overs

Kolkata Knight Riders vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru LIVE, IPL 2025: Rahane had scored 50 in 25 balls for KKR, now Salt does the same for RCB. He has slowed down somewhat in the last few deliveries that he has faced.

He is on 50 off 25 balls at the end of the seventh over by Chakravarthy, Kohli on 34 off 17.

RCB 86/0 in 7 overs

Kolkata Knight Riders vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru LIVE, IPL 2025: Ramandeep Singh with an excellent effort fifth ball to restrict the runs down to two. He seemed to have hurt himself as well, sprinting in from deep point and putting a sold dive forward off Kohli. The fingers got jammed under the ball. He rolls around in pain but seems good to go after a minute.

A very good last over of the powerplay but the damage has been done. Salt on 49 off 23, Kohli on 29 off 13.

Kolkata Knight Riders vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru LIVE, IPL 2025: That's all class from the former RCB captain. Kohli sends the first ball of the fifth over right back over the bowler Spencer Johnson's head for a six. He does the exact same thing again the next ball. Then he mistimes the third one to mid on for a dot and roars in anger. Single fourth ball and then Salt caresses the last ball between point and short third for a four.

RCB 75/0 in 5 overs

Kolkata Knight Riders vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru LIVE, IPL 2025: This is really happening folks. Varun Chakravarthy has been sent to all corners of the park. The man who has been Bumrah-esque for India in T20s and ODIs in the last couple of months has been pummelled to submission by Salt. Kohli runs a single off the first ball, Salt runs two after that and then, he sends the third over mid-off for a four. Then he smashes the fourth ball over mid off for a six. The fifth is sent over mid on for four and the sixth to deep square for another four.

Salt is on 44 off 19, Kohli on 12 off five.

RCB 58/0 in 4 overs, a run rate of 14.50!

Kolkata Knight Riders vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru LIVE, IPL 2025: And Kohli is doing well to keep up the pace whenever he has strike as well. This is an incredible start for RCB. Moreover, dew seems to be playing a role now. Salt blasts the first ball over midwicket for a four. Then smashes the second over cow corner for a six. Single next ball and then Kohli hits the fourth ball through midwicket for four. Single next ball and then Salt upper cuts the last for yet another four.

He is on 24 off 14, Kohli on 11 off four.

RCB 37/0 in 3 overs

Kolkata Knight Riders vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru LIVE, IPL 2025: Spencer Johnson brought on for the second over and he has started off well here. His third delivery is a length ball outside off and Salt crunches it through covers for four. The batters run a leg bye off the last ball.

Salt on nine off 10, Kohli on six off two.

RCB 17/0 in 2 overs

Kolkata Knight Riders vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru LIVE, IPL 2025: Full length delivery to start off the innings from Arora, Salt absolutely crashes it through the covers for a four first ball. The next ball is a big inswinger but it goes down leg side for a wide, fantastic take from de Kock to stop it. Salt takes a single fourth ball and then Kohli flicks the first ball he faces through midwicket. Rana gives chase but it trickles to the boundary. Kohli runs two off the last ball.

Kolkata Knight Riders vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru LIVE, IPL 2025: Now for the RCB chase and Phil Salt will be facing up. He has Virat Kohli at the other end. Vaibhav Arora is bowling the first over of the RCB innings. Remember, the target is 175.

Kolkata Knight Riders vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru LIVE, IPL 2025: RCB turned the screws in the first three overs and the last seven overs. KKR were 9/1 after three overs, 60/1 after six, 107/2 after 10 and so one can see why 174/8 after 20 is a major let down for them. Even then, if RCB's spinners got purchase on this surface, then they would know that their batters have a proper task in their hands in terms of facing Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy.

Kolkata Knight Riders vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru LIVE, IPL 2025: Josh Hazlewood dismisses Harshit Rana with the second last ball of the 20th over. Pull shot from Rana which took a big top edge and went soaring up in the air. Jitesh Sharma did very well indeed to take the catch after calling for it. So KKR need to score 175 to win the first match of their title defence season. It is a strong target indeed but nothing compared to what KKR seemed set to get when Rahane and Narine were going big guns.

KKR vs RCB, IPL 2025 LIVE Score: Edge and that's that for Raghuvanshi.

IPL 2025 LIVE, KKR vs RCB LIVE Score: And that is because Angkrish Raghuvanshi walloped the fourth ball of that 18th over from Hazlewood over cow corner for a six. Four singles apart from that, one of which was a leg bye.

Raghuvanshi on 29 off 19, Ramandeep Singh on four off seven.

KKR 165/6 in 18 overs

IPL 2025 LIVE, KKR vs RCB LIVE Score: Suyash finishes his spell with that over in which he sent back Russell and is taken off the field. Devdutt Padikkal comes on. Liam Livingstone to bowl the 17th over now. RCB are choking the life out of KKR here.

KKR 151/6 in 16 overs

IPL 2025 LIVE, KKR vs RCB LIVE Score: Suyash has sent back Dre Russ for just four runs! Russell had cut the third ball of the over behind point and got off the mark with a four. Then he misses the googly entirely fourth ball and his stumps are disturbed.

Russell b Suyash Sharma 4 (3)

KKR 150/6 in 15.4 overs

IPL 2025 LIVE, KKR vs RCB LIVE Score: He got Rahane and Iyer and now he gets Rinku Singh. No turn, dead straight stump to stump. Rinku goes for the pull and misses it entirely, the stumps are rattled behind him. Krunal Pandya has probably delivered a match-winning spell here. Finishes with 3/29.

Rinku Singh b Krunal Pandya 12 (10)

KKR 145/5 in 15 overs

IPL 2025 LIVE, KKR vs RCB LIVE Score: And Krunal Pandya's last. This has been some spell from him - 25 runs given in three overs for two huge wickets of Ajinkya Rahane and Venkatesh Iyer. KKR's run rate remains above 10 thanks Rinku Singh hitting a four fourth ball of the 14th and ensuring 10 runs in that. He is on 10 off six, Angkrish Raghuvanshi at the other end on 16 off nine.

KKR 141/4 in 14 overs

IPL 2025 LIVE, KKR vs RCB LIVE Score: 14 runs came in the 12th over but Pandya is making things happen here. He bowls a bouncer first ball, it goes down the leg side to be called wide but it surprised Venkatesh enough for him to call for a helmet. Then he fires a quick length delivery, Venkatesh goes on a backfoot and ends up playing a shot that means absolutely nothing in the game of cricket. The stumps are disturbed.

Venkatesh Iyer b Krunal Pandya 6 (7)

KKR 125/4 in 12.1 overs

IPL 2025 LIVE, KKR vs RCB LIVE Score: Krunal Pandya gets the big wicket. Rahane pulls his third ball and sends it straight down the throat of the fielder at deep-backward square leg. The fielder was placed there exactly for that shot, Rahane, it seems wanted to clear him. A fantastic innings nonetheless, it has given KKR a great platform to work from.

Rahane c Rasikh Salam b Pandya 56 (31)

KKR 109/2 in 10.3 overs