A repeat of last year’s Indian Premier League (IPL) final ended with a similar result on Thursday, April 3. The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) comprehensively beat the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) by a margin of 80 runs at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
It was a disappointing display from the Orange Army, who were caught out from a tactical perspective in the first innings. Pat Cummins wasn’t at his best in that department, allowing KKR to reach the 200-run mark. SRH were also never in the contest in the chase, with only one batter scoring more than 30 runs.
On that note, here are two players who starred and one who flopped in the KKR vs SRH IPL 2025 match.
#3 Star – Vaibhav Arora
In the previous game against the Mumbai Indians (MI), Vaibhav Arora couldn’t come in as an impact player due to a batting collapse in the first innings. This time around, he was introduced in the chase and did his job to perfection.
Arora got the new ball to talk and made an immediate impact with the dismissal of the dangerous Travis Head. He dismissed Ishan Kishan soon after, putting SRH under serious pressure in the powerplay. The swing bowler was unlucky not to have more reward for his efforts inside the first six overs.
Arora later returned to prise out Heinrich Klaasen, capping off an incredible display. He was rightfully adjudged the Player of the Match.
#2 Flop – Abhishek Sharma
India’s explosive opener hasn’t had a characteristic start to IPL 2025. Abhishek Sharma hasn’t been able to continue his T20I form into the franchise league, with a couple of failures early in the season.
On Thursday, Harshit Rana foxed him with a well-executed off-pace delivery that jagged away off the seam. Abhishek was through with the shot too early and spooned a catch to Venkatesh Iyer at slip, leaving SRH at 9/2 inside the first two overs of the powerplay.
#1 Star – Angkrish Raghuvanshi
In contrast, another young batter impressed with a fluent half-century. Angkrish Raghuvanshi came to the crease with KKR in loads of trouble early in the powerplay and revived them during a meaningful partnership with Ajinkya Rahane.
Raghuvanshi struck two sixes and five fours, essaying strokes on both sides of the wicket. By the time he was dismissed in the 13th over, KKR had recovered to 106, setting the platform for the middle and lower-middle order to do their job.
Interestingly, unlike Rinku Singh and Venkatesh Iyer, Raghuvanshi seemed to be in excellent nick. He also didn’t let the match situation dissuade him from playing his shots and ensured that the remainder of the first 10 overs were maximized.
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Edited by Sai Krishna
