A transformed Ajinkya Rahane dazzled on his Kolkata Knight Riders captaincy debut with a 25-ball fifty, but Krunal Pandya's game-changing three wicket burst ensured that the defending champions fell well short of the 200-mark, managing a below-par 174 for 8 against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the IPL opener on Saturday. The 36-year-old veteran, who last played a T20I for India in 2016 and replaced Shreyas Iyer at the helm, played a fearless knock of 56 off 31 balls.
Sunil Narine contributed 44 off 26, in a 103-run third wicket partnership off 55 balls to lay a solid platform scoring at 10 plus an over.
But their efforts were undone by left-arm spinner Krunal's brilliant 3/29 in the middle overs where he dismissed a well-set Rahane, and the two KKR heavyweights duo of Venkatesh Iyer (6) and Rinku Singh (12) in successive overs.
The inability of KKR's lower middle order -- featuring their most expensive INR 23.75 crore signing Iyer, Rinku Singh, and Russell—to fire cost them dearly as they managed just 23 runs and lost two wickets in the last four overs.
Josh Hazlewood, who started brilliantly with the new ball, finished with tidy 2/22.
Put in, KKR struggled early, managing just nine runs in the first three overs, with Josh Hazlewood's precise lines and Yash Dayal's disciplined bowling keeping them quiet.
The only casualty in this phase was Quinton de Kock, undone by a sharp in-swinger from Hazlewood that took a faint inside edge to the wicketkeeper.
The momentum shifted drastically when Rahane took charge in the fourth over, dismantling Rasikh Salam Dar for 16 runs, including two sixes and a four.
Narine, despite struggling with his timing, found his rhythm against Suyash Sharma, smashing him for consecutive sixes and a four.
The duo propelled KKR to a dominant 60/1 at the end of the powerplay. Rahane's knock was a spectacle of aggression and elegance. He reached his fifty in grand fashion, kneeling down to sweep a delivery miles over deep midwicket.
His onslaught continued against Krunal and Yash Dayal, flicking and pulling with audacity. A particularly brutal over from Dayal saw Rahane hit a four and two sixes in succession, showcasing his complete control.
However, RCB clawed back into the contest with a brilliant spell from Krunal in the middle phase.
Re-introduced in the 11th over, Krunal struck a crucial blow by dismissing Rahane, who mistimed a pull and was caught at deep backward square leg.
The left-arm spinner continued his demolition job, removing the KKR vice-captain and most expensive player Iyer and the explosive Rinku to choke KKR's run flow.
Suyash Sharma, expensive and erratic earlier, redeemed himself by claiming the prized wicket of Andre Russell (4) with a googly in his final over, leaving KKR in deep trouble at 150/6.
Suyash, however, remained RCB's weakest link, leaking 47 runs in his four overs at an economy of 11.75.
Despite the early fireworks, KKR's innings fizzled out under RCB's disciplined bowling in the death overs.