Guwahati (Assam) [India], March 27 : Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) skipper Ajinkya Rahane lauded off-spinner Mooen Ali's exceptional bowling performance against Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the sixth match of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 which was played at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati on Wednesday.
Moeen Ali came as a replacement for Sunil Narine in the playing XI for the match. While bowling, the spinner grabbed two wickets in his spell of four overs, where he conceded 23 runs. In his spell, he gave away runs at an economy of 5.8 and bagged the wickets of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Nitish Rana.
"Firstly, we bowled really well in the first six overs. The middle overs were crucial, too - the way the spinners controlled things. Moeen got his opportunity, and he bowled really well. This is a format where we want players to play fearlessly, we want to give them freedom. Credit goes to our bowling unit, too, who were always looking to pick wickets, especially Moeen. Not much, complete freedom from our side," Ajinkya Rahane said in the post-match presentation.
Further, Rahane backed Moeen Ali as he failed to score runs while opening the innings for the defending champions. He was sent back to the pavilion after scoring just five runs from 12 balls through a runout in the eighth over.
"Moeen is a quality player who has opened in the past. He couldn't get going with the bat, but I'm very happy with what he did with the ball. The challenge is to stay in the moment, and every game is an opportunity to learn," the Knight Riders skipper added.
Chasing a total of 152 runs, batters Moeen Ali and Quinton de Kock came out in the middle to open the innings for the defending champions. Both batters went on to score 40 runs in the powerplay. After the end of 6 overs, Moeen Ali (4*) and Quinton de Kock (34*) were unbeaten on the crease.
In the seventh over at the score of 41, the Kolkata-based franchise lost their opening wicket as Moeen Ali (5 runs off 12 balls) was sent back to the pavilion through a runout.
The defending champions completed the 50-run mark in the eighth over as Ajinkya Rahane took a single on the bowling of leg spinner Wanindu Hasaranga.In the 11th over, KKR lost their second wicket as skipper Rahane (18 runs from 15 balls) was sent back to the dressing room by Hasaranga's bowling.
De Kock completed his half-century on the penultimate ball of the 11th over as he slammed a six on the bowling of Hasaranga.
The Ajinkya Rahane-led side completed the 100-run mark on the fourth ball of the 13th over as the left-hand batter took a single on the bowl of Hasaranga.
The southpaw finished off the match with a six in the 18th over of the innings. The wicketkeeper-batter (97* runs off 61 balls) remained unbeaten at the end, along with Angrish Raghuvanshi (22* runs from 17 balls).
For Rajasthan Royals, one wicket was snapped by a leg spinner in his three overs where he conceded 34 runs, whereas the other wicket came through a runout.