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Krunal Pandya leads the wicket-taking charts after his standout display in RCB’s opening game against KKR.
IPL 2025 Purple Cap Race After KKR vs RCB: Krunal Pandya leads the wicket-taking charts after his stellar display. (Image: Sportzpics)
The Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) delivered a statement win over the defending champions, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by 7 wickets in their opening game of the Indian Premier League 2025 season that was held at the Eden Gardens stadium in Kolkata on Saturday.
Despite being hammered in the powerplay, RCB managed to pull themselves back in the hunt to dominate the remainder of the first innings to help restrict the title-holders to a below-par score.
Let us now take a look at what the purple cap standings look like after Game 1 of the IPL.
| IPL 2025 Purple Cap Race After KKR vs RCB | ||||||||||
| Rank | Player Name | Team | Wickets | Matches | Innings | Overs | Runs | Avg | Eco | SR |
| 1 | Krunal Pandya | RCB | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 29 | 9.66 | 7.25 | 8 |
| 2 | Josh Hazlewood | RCB | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 22 | 11 | 5.5 | 12 |
| 3 | Sunil Narine | KKR | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 27 | 27 | 6.75 | 24 |
| 4 | Yash Dayal | RCB | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 25 | 25 | 8.33 | 18 |
| 5 | Varun Chakaravarthy | KKR | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 43 | 43 | 10.75 | 24 |
| 6 | Rasikh Dar | RCB | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 35 | 45 | 11.66 | 18 |
| 7 | Suyash Sharma | RCB | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 47 | 47 | 11.75 | 24 |
| 8 | Vaibhav Arora | KKR | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 42 | 42 | 14 | 18 |
Krunal Pandya was the pick of the bowlers for RCB who delivered crucial wickets in key moments through the middle stages. He dismissed the in-form Ajinkya Rahane, who looked in good touch after scoring 56 in 31 balls in the first innings. Pandya followed it up with another big blow, removing KKR’s vice-captain, Venkatesh Iyer for just six runs to turn the tides in RCB’s favour.
Another key player for the Bengaluru-based franchise was the veteran Australian pacer, Josh Hazlewood who struck in the first over of the new season to dismiss Quinton de Kock. After bowling two overs in the powerplay, he followed it up with an equally impressive display in the death with 15 runs and a wicket coming in his last two overs.
Despite not coming out as the winning side, KKR will be optimistic after seeing Sunil Narine’s performance with the ball. The mystery-spinner showcased his class with the ball as he conceded just 27 runs in his four overs. He also got the wicket of Devdutt Padikkal. However, the game was long gone considering Virat Kohli going unbeaten on 59 to see the chase through to the end.
Varun Chakaravarthy, who had an impressive international campaign, had a disappointing start to the IPL season as he conceded a whopping 43 runs in his quota. He was able to get the wicket of Phil Salt who took the game away from the hosts with a quickfire fifty. KKR’s mystery spinner will look to put in a better performance in the next game to help them come out on top.
