KKR vs RCB, IPL 2025: Kolkata Knight Riders player ratings as Rahane and Co. suffer rough start to title defense

The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) suffered a seven-wicket defeat at the hands of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in Match 1 of the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL). A packed crowd at the Eden Gardens watched on in disappointment as the defending champions made a rough start to the new campaign.

After Rajat Patidar won the toss, Josh Hazlewood set the tone for RCB in the powerplay before Krunal Pandya dominated with a stellar three-fer in the middle overs. Bengaluru were always going to have it easier in the chase, and the openers plundered runs in the powerplay to ensure a comfortable win.

On that note, here are KKR's player ratings from their IPL 2025 clash against RCB.

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IPL 2025, KKR vs RCB: Kolkata succumb despite Rahane blitz

2025 IPL - Kolkata Knight Riders v Royal Challengers Bengaluru - Source: Getty

Quinton de Kock: 2/10

De Kock was troubled by Hazlewood once again, surviving a dropped catch before nicking one while trying to force it away through the off-side. Strangely, the South African has a miserable record at the Eden Gardens.

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Sunil Narine: 8.5/10

Narine struggled to get going at the start of his innings before some poor bowling allowed him to get his strike rate up. He made an important 44 before being dismissed in the 10th over. The West Indian dismissed Devdutt Padikkal and was among KKR's better bowlers.

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Ajinkya Rahane: 8.5/10

Rahane was in his element as he continued the form he showed in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. The KKR skipper was severe on pace through the leg side and played a couple of stellar shots against spin as well. He would've been disappointed with the manner and timing of his dismissal.

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Angkrish Raghuvanshi: 6.5/10

Raghuvanshi did his bit, striking 30 runs. While KKR would've wanted more acceleration from him at the death, the youngster made the most of the situation after the team lost a flurry of wickets.

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Venkatesh Iyer: 3/10

Venkatesh, perhaps unsettled by a bouncer, played a nothing shot to be castled by Krunal. One of the most expensive players at the IPL 2025 auction, the left-hander needs to do better.

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Rinku Singh: 4/10

Rinku's struggles against spin came to the fore again as Krunal forced him to slog one across the line, only for him to miss it altogether. The finisher hasn't been in excellent form lately.

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Andre Russell: 4/10

Russell just needed to play out Suyash Sharma's last over, and he would've been the overwhelming favorite to capitalize at the death. But he misread a googly and slogged one across the line, falling to a negative matchup at an inopportune time once again. The all-rounder didn't bowl.

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Ramandeep Singh: 4/10

Ramandeep was starved of strike towards the end of the KKR innings and should've taken more initiative to face deliveries. He remained unbeaten on six off nine.

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Harshit Rana: 5/10

Harshit struggled to put bat on ball, although that didn't matter much in the context of the game. He was unlucky to go for 32 runs in his three overs, as he hit the right areas and seemed to trouble the RCB batters at times.

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Spencer Johnson: 3/10

Johnson's lines and lengths were far from perfect, and he paid the price for that. The left-arm seamer leaked 31 runs in just 2.2 overs and didn't threaten to provide any breakthroughs despite beating Phil Salt's bat a couple of times.

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Varun Chakaravarthy: 3/10

Chakaravarthy turned in one of his worst displays in recent times, often overpitching and allowing the RCB batters to hit him to all parts of the ground. The spinner dismissed Salt, but he needed to do much more.

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Vaibhav Arora [IP]: 2/10

Introduced as the impact player in the second innings, Arora dished out a poor performance. He often fed freebies in the slot and didn't have the necessary line control, finishing as KKR's most expensive bowler on the night.