KKR vs RCB, IPL 2025: Royal Challengers Bengaluru player ratings as Krunal, Kohli & Salt run riot in Kolkata
The Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) made an early statement in the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) as they beat the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by seven wickets at the Eden Gardens on Saturday, March 22. The tournament got off to an entertaining start in Kolkata.
Rajat Patidar won the toss in his first match as RCB captain and elected to field first, following which the visiting bowlers did well to restrict the defending champions to a below-par 174/8. Bengaluru were always ahead of the game in the chase and effectively killed it in the powerplay before getting over the line with 22 balls to spare.
On that note, here are RCB's player ratings from their IPL 2025 clash against KKR.
IPL 2025, KKR vs RCB: Bengaluru make early statement with thumping win
Phil Salt: 9/10
Salt was in his element against his former franchise, butchering the KKR bowlers in the powerplay to get his team off to a flying start. He even picked apart Varun Chakaravarthy inside the first six overs, and by the time the spinner rebounded by dismissing him in the ninth over, the damage was done.
Virat Kohli: 9/10
Kohli, too, looked in good nick and played a series of attacking shots against both pace and spin. The former RCB skipper remained unbeaten as his team got over the line in comfortable fashion.
Rajat Patidar: 8/10
Patidar's captaincy split opinion, and he needs to be given more time before he can be assessed. With the bat, the right-hander played a breezy cameo that boosted RCB's net run rate. He looked assured against both pace and spin.
Liam Livingstone: 8/10
Livingstone sent down a couple of tidy overs, including one at the death, and smacked a few boundaries as the chase was nearing completion.
Tim David: 5/10
David didn't have much to do, with the batters above him doing their job well. He receives a standard rating.
Jitesh Sharma: 7/10
Jitesh was tidy behind the stumps and wasn't required with the bat.
Krunal Pandya: 9/10
Krunal went for a few runs in his first over, but he rebounded brilliantly with three wickets that changed the trajectory of the contest. The left-arm spinner's prowess against left-handers and general ability to keep things tight showed up in a big way at the Eden Gardens.
Rasikh Salam: 5/10
Rasikh was picked apart for most part of his spell, although he didn't bowl as poorly as his figures suggested. He prised out Sunil Narine, although he was hit for three fours and as many sixes.
Josh Hazlewood: 9/10
Hazlewood was close to his world-class best in Kolkata. He set the tone with two terrific overs in the powerplay that fetched the wicket of Quinton de Kock and returned at the death to close out the innings well. If the Aussie can maintain this form, he will significantly bolster RCB's pace stocks.
Suyash Sharma: 5/10
Suyash's lines and lengths were all over for the most part of his spell, but Patidar trusted him to dismiss the dangerous Andre Russell. The leg-spinner did just that with a delightful googly. He dropped a simple catch in the powerplay.
Yash Dayal: 7/10
Dayal sent down three overs, of which two were extremely tight. He used his cutters well and wasn't easy to hit, with Angkrish Raghuvanshi succuming in the penultimate over of the first innings.
Devdutt Padikkal [IP]: 4/10
Batting at No. 3, Padikkal struck a nice boundary through the leg-side but was caught on the boundary off Narine soon after. Patidar was perhaps the better choice to come in, given the match situation.