IPL 2025: “Champion Bowler, Relentless Worker”: KKR Captain Rahane Applauds Narine’s Match-Winning Spell

Ajinkya Rahane praises Sunil Narine’s impact after the veteran spinner sparked Delhi’s collapse and guided KKR to a crucial 14-run win.

New Delhi, April 30: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) skipper Ajinkya Rahane hailed Sunil Narine as a “champion bowler” after the veteran spinner produced a decisive performance to script a 14-run victory over Delhi Capitals (DC) in their IPL 2025 clash at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Tuesday.

Defending a target of 205, Narine turned the match on its head with a game-changing spell, finishing with figures of 3/29 and breaking the back of Delhi’s middle order. Alongside Varun Chakravarthy (2/39), Narine helped trigger a dramatic collapse, reducing DC from 136/3 to 160/8.

“When Sunil came in and picked up two quick wickets, that was the turning point,” said Rahane at the post-match presentation.
“He’s a match-winner. It’s great as a captain to have both Narine and Varun in the side. Sunil works incredibly hard — he’s at the ground early for practice, always focused, even on his batting.”

The skipper also credited Andre Russell and Anukul Roy for their roles in the bowling effort.
“Russell’s been training hard on his yorkers, and he’s delivered for us every time we’ve needed a breakthrough. Anukul’s been consistent too. It’s good to back players when they’re putting in the effort,” Rahane added.

Match Recap:

Earlier, KKR posted 204/9 after being sent in to bat. The innings was built on brisk starts from Rahmanullah Gurbaz (26 off 12), Sunil Narine (27 off 16), and Rahane himself (26 off 14), with Angkrish Raghuvanshi (44 off 32) and Rinku Singh (36 off 25) steadying the middle phase.

Despite the strong total, DC looked poised in the chase with Faf du Plessis (62 off 45) and Axar Patel (43 off 23) adding 76 runs. But Narine’s dismissal of Axar triggered a slide, with DC eventually restricted to 190/9.

Vipraj Nigam’s spirited 38 off 19 was not enough to take DC over the line.

Points Table Update:

With the win, KKR climbed to seventh on the table with 8 points (4 wins, 5 losses), while DC remain fourth with 12 points (6 wins, 4 losses). Notably, Delhi has now lost 3 of their 4 home games this season.

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Brief Score:
KKR 204/9 (Raghuvanshi 44, Rinku 36; Starc 3/43)
DC 190/9 (Faf 62, Axar 43; Narine 3/29, Varun 2/39)
Result: KKR won by 14 runs