Quinton de Kock, spinners star in KKR's first win

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) bounced back from their opening loss with a comfortable eight-wicket victory over Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Guwahati. The spinners, led by Moeen Ali and Varun Chakaravarthy, did an excellent job in restricting RR to 151/9. De Kock then powered the reply with an unbeaten 97 off 61, as KKR cantered to the target in 17.3 overs.

The spinners were the stars of the show, with Moeen and Varun conceding just 40 runs in their combined 9 overs, while picking up 4 wickets. De Kock paced his innings well, choosing his shots wisely and ensuring KKR didn't fall behind in the middle overs. He got good support from Ajinkya Rahane and Angkrish Raghuvanshi, as KKR got 22 more runs than RR in the 7-15 overs phase.

The RR openers started well, with Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sanju Samson scoring 54/1 in the powerplay. However, the spinners took over in the middle overs, with Moeen and Varun conceding just 6 and 4 runs respectively in their 2 overs. RR managed only 56/5 in this phase, with only 22 runs in boundaries.

In the death overs, RR's innings stalled, with Varun and Harshit Rana conceding only 9 runs in their combined 3 overs. KKR's chase was smooth sailing, with de Kock finishing off the game in the 18th over, striking a four and two sixes off Archer.

Brief scores: Rajasthan Royals 151/9 in 20 overs lost to Kolkata Knight Riders 153/2 in 17.3 overs by 8 wickets.