Krunal Pandya rattles Venkatesh Iyer with a bouncer, castles him next ball in KKR vs RCB IPL 2025 match [Watch] 

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) spinner Krunal Pandya marked his eventful debut for the franchise with Venkatesh Iyer's key wicket in the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) opener against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). The defending champions' record acquisition was dismissed for just six runs off seven deliveries at Eden Gardens on Saturday, March 22.

Pandya began the 13th over with a vicious bouncer, which caught both Venkatesh Iyer and the RCB wicketkeeper Jitesh Sharma by surprise. The left-handed batter, who was playing without a helmet against the spinners, signaled for one straightaway after evading the tricky bouncer.

After a slight delay, the helmet was brought on for Iyer, and play was resumed. Pandya, however, dished out a flatted delivery on length, which the left-handed batter tried to work towards the on side. But, he could only chop it onto the stumps to continue KKR's collapse after a flying start.

Have a look at the dismissal right here:

Venkatesh Iyer's dismissal left KKR struggling at 125/4 in the 13th over. It is to be noted that they were cruising at 107-1 at the halfway mark of the innings.

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Krunal Pandya castles Rinky Singh to wrap up his spell against KKR in IPL 2025 opener

The formula of bowling flat and quick worked once again for Krunal Pandya as he managed to dismiss Rinku Singh in a similar fashion as Venkatesh Iyer.

After conceding only seven runs in his third over along with Iyer's wicket, Pandya was brought to bowl the 15th over to conclude his spell. The left-arm spinner kept things tight, giving away only four runs off his first five deliveries.

Pandya stuck to his trademark flat delivery in the final ball of his spell, firing it in as Rinku Singh tried to play across the line. But, the left-handed batter was castled, departing after scoring only 12 runs off 10 deliveries.

As of writing, RCB spinners have dragged their side back into the contest. The score reads 150/6 after Suyash Sharma castled Andre Russell in the 16th over.