GUWAHATI, India: South Africa’s Quinton de Kock struck an unbeaten 97 as holders Kolkata Knight Riders registered their first win of the IPL season with an eight-wicket hammering of Rajasthan Royals on Wednesday.
Spinners Moeen Ali and Varun Chakravarthy combined to help restrict Rajasthan to 151-9 after KKR elected to field first in Guwahati.
De Kock bossed the chase with his 61-ball innings laced with eight fours and six sixes as Kolkata achieved their target with 15 balls to spare.
De Kock, who has retired from Tests and one-day international cricket for South Africa and whose T20 international future remains uncertain, showed no signs of rustiness.
“To be fair, haven’t felt any challenges yet,” De Kock said.
“Have had three months off which felt nice. Had about a 10-day build-up to this season. Only my second game here, just taking it as I see it.”
Kolkata signed De Kock in November’s auction after he was released by Lucknow Super Giants.
He handed his team a quick start, hitting two fours but then lost opening partner Moeen, run out for five.
Skipper Ajinkya Rahane fell after a brisk 18 but De Kock stood firm and along with impact substitute Angkrish Raghuvanshi, who made 22, steered the team home in an unbeaten stand of 83.
De Kock finished with a six off Jofra Archer as Kolkata bounced back from their opening loss to Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
Rajasthan suffered their second straight loss.
Earlier, Kolkata fast bowler Vaibhav Arora dismissed Sanju Samson, bowled for 13, and Chakravarthy and Moeen soon took two wickets each.
Wicketkeeper Samson is Rajasthan’s regular captain but has been forced to play only as a batter in the first three matches due to an injury.
Chakravarthy, who starred in India’s recent Champions Trophy triumph, got stand-in-skipper Riyan Parag out caught behind for 25.
Former England all-rounder Moeen, in for the unwell Sunil Narine, stifled the opposition with his off-spin and was rewarded with the wicket of Yashasvi Jaiswal for 29.
The 37-year-old and Chakravarthy both struck again as Rajasthan slipped to 82-5 in 11 overs.
Wickets kept tumbling for Rajasthan and despite wicketkeeper-batsman Dhruv Jurel’s 33 and 16 from Archer, they settled for a below-par total.
“I think 170 was a reasonable score but we fell short by 20 runs,” said Parag. “The plan was to get Quinny out early but he didn’t so we shifted to containing them in the middle overs.”
Arora and fellow quick Harshit Rana also took two wickets each.
Kolkata, under Shreyas Iyer who is now Punjab Kings captain after a $3.17 million move in the auction, won their third IPL title last year.
![]()
De Kock fireworks see Kolkata thrash Rajasthan in IPL
Short Url
https://arab.news/495tn
De Kock fireworks see Kolkata thrash Rajasthan in IPL
- Spinners Moeen Ali and Varun Chakravarthy combined to help restrict Rajasthan to 151-9 after KKR elected to field first in Guwahati
- De Kock bossed the chase with his 61-ball innings laced with eight fours and six sixes as Kolkata achieved their target with 15 balls to spare
Iva Jovic received tips from Novak Djokovic, but those couldn’t help her against Sabalenka
- They helped until Tuesday when top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka defeated the 18-year-old American 6-3, 6-0 to end her run in Melbourne
- Predicted rankings published by the WTA showed her climbing to No. 20 — her highest spot
Iva Jovic has received playing tips throughout the Australian Open from Novak Djokovic. They worked very well until Tuesday, when top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka defeated the 18-year-old American 6-3, 6-0 to end her run at Melbourne Park.
“Hopefully throughout the year I can keep having more moments with him because it’s been amazing,” Jovic said of Djokovic, the star Serbian who has won 24 Grand Slam singles titles, 10 of them at the Australian Open.
But even Djokovic could not have saved Jovic against Sabalenka in the quarterfinal match.
To be fair, Jovic has been doing just fine on her own, rising quickly in the WTA rankings.
She finished 2024 ranked just inside the top 200. Predicted rankings published Tuesday by the WTA showed her climbing to No. 20 — her highest spot.
Jovic had a chance against Sabalenka in the first set. Sabalenka took a 3-0 lead, but Jovic stayed in the set and had three breakpoint chances in the ninth game trailing 5-3. She lost 6-3 and lost her momentum, losing the second set 6-0.
Jovic referred to a comment that she attributed to Andre Agassi speaking about Djokovic, noting his ability to change styles and keep opponents off balance.
She said Agassi compared Djokovic with “a boxer and the way that he’s going in for punches and then faking them out a little bit. I think the way (Djokovic) approaches the match is very impressive.”
Jovic is the California-born daughter of a Serbian father and Croatian mother who immigrated to the United States.
It was Jovic’s first appearance in a Grand Slam quarterfinal, but she seemed poised from the start.
“I think that I kind of went into the match obviously not knowing too much about how it was going to look like in person, having not really hit with her in the past,” Jovic said. “Our first meeting as well.”
“I kind of tried to just bring that middle ground, and I think I have to be able to adapt to the game and what’s necessary for different play styles. I wasn’t able to do that” against Sabalenka.
Jovic revealed her conversations with Djokovic earlier in the tournament. Djokovic confirmed he gave the young American some feedback, saying he was happy to help a player with Serbian heritage.
The 38-year-old Djokovic has stayed in touch.
“Yes, he did text me with some more tips throughout the rounds. I don’t even know what day it is anymore!” Jovic said. “So we’ve been in communication, and I feel like we’ve built a little bit of a relationship now, which is amazing, and I wish him all the best for the rest of the tournament.”
She plans to have more opportunities of her own at Grand Slams in the future.
‘It’s the quarterfinals but, you know, ultimately I hope to be in many quarterfinals,” she said. “So I don’t think this win or loss today is going to make or break my career.”
“Hopefully throughout the year I can keep having more moments with him because it’s been amazing,” Jovic said of Djokovic, the star Serbian who has won 24 Grand Slam singles titles, 10 of them at the Australian Open.
But even Djokovic could not have saved Jovic against Sabalenka in the quarterfinal match.
To be fair, Jovic has been doing just fine on her own, rising quickly in the WTA rankings.
She finished 2024 ranked just inside the top 200. Predicted rankings published Tuesday by the WTA showed her climbing to No. 20 — her highest spot.
Jovic had a chance against Sabalenka in the first set. Sabalenka took a 3-0 lead, but Jovic stayed in the set and had three breakpoint chances in the ninth game trailing 5-3. She lost 6-3 and lost her momentum, losing the second set 6-0.
Jovic referred to a comment that she attributed to Andre Agassi speaking about Djokovic, noting his ability to change styles and keep opponents off balance.
She said Agassi compared Djokovic with “a boxer and the way that he’s going in for punches and then faking them out a little bit. I think the way (Djokovic) approaches the match is very impressive.”
Jovic is the California-born daughter of a Serbian father and Croatian mother who immigrated to the United States.
It was Jovic’s first appearance in a Grand Slam quarterfinal, but she seemed poised from the start.
“I think that I kind of went into the match obviously not knowing too much about how it was going to look like in person, having not really hit with her in the past,” Jovic said. “Our first meeting as well.”
“I kind of tried to just bring that middle ground, and I think I have to be able to adapt to the game and what’s necessary for different play styles. I wasn’t able to do that” against Sabalenka.
Jovic revealed her conversations with Djokovic earlier in the tournament. Djokovic confirmed he gave the young American some feedback, saying he was happy to help a player with Serbian heritage.
The 38-year-old Djokovic has stayed in touch.
“Yes, he did text me with some more tips throughout the rounds. I don’t even know what day it is anymore!” Jovic said. “So we’ve been in communication, and I feel like we’ve built a little bit of a relationship now, which is amazing, and I wish him all the best for the rest of the tournament.”
She plans to have more opportunities of her own at Grand Slams in the future.
‘It’s the quarterfinals but, you know, ultimately I hope to be in many quarterfinals,” she said. “So I don’t think this win or loss today is going to make or break my career.”
Latest updates
© 2026 SAUDI RESEARCH & PUBLISHING COMPANY, All Rights Reserved And subject to Terms of Use Agreement.