AI Simulation, KKR vs SRH | KKR ride on Ajinkya Rahane’s half-century and end IPL 2025 on a high

Pitch and Weather

A flat and dry Delhi surface was on display supporting pace initially with spin taking centre stage as the game progressed. It was a typically hot evening with temperatures around 36 degrees with no rains as dew set in late into the match.

Toss and Conditions

Kolkata Knight Riders won the toss and elected to bowl first 

Lineups 

KKR: Ajinkya Rahane (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Sunil Narine, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Manish Pandey, Rinku Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Andre Russell, Vaibhav Arora, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakravarthy, Anukul Roy

SRH: Pat Cummins (c), Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan, Heinrich Klaasen, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Aniket Verma, Abhinav Manohar, Kamindu Mendis, Harshal Patel, Zeeshan Ansari, Jaydev Unadkat

Match Report

With both teams out of the IPL 2025 and playing for pride, it was KKR who came on top with a five-wicket win over SRH at the Arun Jaitley Stadium to end their campaign on a winning note this year. Skipper Ajinkya Rahane top-scored for KKR with a half-century while Varun Chakravarthy and Andre Russell starred with the ball picking up two wickets each.

Sunrisers Hyderabad, after being sent into bat, had a blazing start to reach 67/1 at the end of the powerplay with Abhishek Sharma once again looking in top form. The southpaw smashed 61 off just 31 balls and dismantled KKR’s pace attack early, especially targeting Harshit Rana and Vaibhav Arora. Despite the early loss of Head, Abhishek and Ishan maintained the momentum with a 50-run stand in just 29 balls. With Heinrich Klaasen’s 48 off 26 and his masterclass against the spinners in the middle overs, SRH looked poised to breach the 200-run mark, Andre Russell bowled a game-changing 15th over, removing Klaasen and Mendis. Varun Chakravarthy followed with two miserly overs, applying the brakes. Cummins and Nitish Reddy added a few in the death, but SRH had to settle for 197/7 – a formidable total, yet just par considering the start.

KKR began their chase with intent as Rahane, serene as ever, caressed the ball through covers and flicked with grace, and dominated the powerplay with his 33-ball 55. While Gurbaz and Narine came up with quick cameos, it was Rahane’s fluency that allowed KKR to reach 91/2 by the 10th over. However, SRH clawed back briefly with the wickets of Rahane and Pandey, but Rinku Singh was unshaken and unfazed as he held one end up and absorbed the pressure. With 62 needed off the last 6 overs, he found support in Andre Russell as the pair combined caution with calculated aggression, taking 17 off Malinga’s 18th over. Russell sealed it with a six over long-on off Cummins, bringing up the win with more than an over to spare.

Player of the Match

Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Ajinkya Rahane was awarded the Player of the Match for anchoring the chase with his 33-ball 55. He gave KKR the perfect start in their formidable chase of 198 and his innings was laden with six fours and two sixes.

Scorecard