RR vs KKR, IPL 2025, It was hard to replace Sunil but I did a fair job - Moeen Ali on his Kolkata Knight Riders debut

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) registered an easy win against Rajasthan Royals (RR) on Wednesday (March 26). In the match played at Barsapara Cricket Stadium, KKR chased the target of 152 in just 17.3 overs. Moeen Ali made his debut for the Kolkata Knight Riders replacing injured Sunil Narine in the game.

Coming to bat first, RR batters looked dominant by hitting boundaries in the initial overs. However, the wickets started falling and the team began struggling to score runs. They managed to put 151/9 on the board, which KKR chased with eight wickets in hand.

Moeen Ali on replacing Sunil Narine

Moeen Ali replaced KKR's key off-spinner Sunil Narine who is suffering from an injury. However, he didn't let the team feel the absence of Narine in the game. The 37-year-old scalped two crucial wickets as he set in-form Yashasvi Jaiswal and former KKR player Nitish Rana back to the hut. He conceded 23 runs in the four overs and had an economy of 5.80.

"It was nice. I have been practicing well. I was told this morning Sunil was not well. It was hard to replace Sunil but I did a fair job. Those are the wickets you enjoy the most, try and open the batters up, and spin the ball as much as you can. Really good, really good bunch of guys, it's been amazing so far," Moeen said in the post-match conference.

Bowling with Varun Chakaravarthy

On his bowling along with KKR's mystery spinner Varun Chakaravarthy, Moeen said, “I came on before him, so my job was to try to bowl tight as I can and thought maybe he could build a bit of pressure as well or get the wicket,” Moeen said shortly after KKR won by eight wickets. “I am used to bowling with somebody who is better than me and has more mystery than me. So my job there is to bowl as tight as I can, and hopefully, that builds pressure for that person to get wickets. He is a brilliant bowler,” he said. “He improved so much in the last two or three years. It was amazing to bowl with somebody like that.”

Making it to KKR Playing XII

He further added that even though it is difficult to get into the Playing XII when given a chance, one should make the most of it, "Trying to get better at 37 years old. It's a very very balanced side, all these players are amazing, Narine, Russell, and Quinny are always guaranteed to play so it's tough to get in. Take your chance when it comes and make the most of it."

Netizens looked impressed with Moeen's KKR debut and praised him for his impressive bowling.

In his IPL history so far, Moeen has scalped 37 wickets in the 68 matches played at an economy of 7.03.