Quinton de Kock clobbers Jofra Archer for a 6 to seal commanding win for KKR in IPL 2025 match against RR [Watch]

Kolkata Knight Riders opener Quinton de Kock hammered a maximum off Jofra Archer to seal a commanding eight-wicket win in the IPL 2025 clash against the Rajasthan Royals. The match took place on Wednesday in Guwahati. The left-handed batter smoked a six over long-on as the Royals slumped to their second loss of the season.

With the Knight Riders needing only 17 off the last 18 balls, Riyan Parag called on Archer, who had two overs left. The first two balls went for 10 runs, including a four and a six as the defending champions looked to finish off the proceedings quickly. The England speedster bowled two consecutive wides. De Kock latched onto the third delivery of the over to hammer a maximum as the Knight Riders won with 15 balls to spare.

Watch the Knight Riders' winning moment here:

De Kock, who was not retained by the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) ahead of the IPL 2025 auction, was given an opportunity by the Knight Riders in this edition. Although the South African cricketer failed in the opening game against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), he bounced back in style with a 61-ball 97*.

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"Luckily we batted second" - Quinton de Kock

Quinton de Kock. (Image Credits: IPL X)

The keeper-batter won the Player of the Match award for his sensational innings. After the game, he suggested that he played according to the situation to take the side over the line. The 32-year-old stated at the post-game presentation:

"Coming back into cricket we had 10 days of camp, practice matches so that made it pretty easy. This is only my secod game here, luckily we batted second so as a keeper I got to watch the wicket and I could adjust accordingly while batting. I know the IPL is known for big scores, but I just tried to win the game for us."

Earlier, Varun Chakaravarthy, Moeen Ali, Harshit Rana, and Vaibhav Arora took two wickets each to restrict the Royals to 151/9. Kolkata will next face the Mumbai Indians on Monday, March 31, at the Wankhede Stadium.