Courtesy: BCCI/IPL
Former England all-rounder Moeen Ali, who made his debut for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) against Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, has called his junior colleague Varun Chakravarthy the better bowler than him. After a heavy defeat from Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the opening game, defending champions looked aggressive against RR at the Barsapara Stadium and bagged a convincing eight-wicket victory. In KKR’s win, their spin-bowling duo of Moeen and Varun made crucial contributions with their wicket-taking and thrifty spells.
Varun gave away only 17 runs in his four overs and also claimed the scalps of Riyan Parag and Wanindu Hasaranga. He got support from Moeen, who completed his four-over spell and registered 2/23 figures. Riding on their efforts, Kolkata contained Rajasthan on 151/9. The former England cricketer was appreciated for the commendable job he did in KKR star all-rounder Sunil Narine’s absence.
Following Kolkata’s win, Moeen Ali rated Varun above him in the interview after the first innings of the game and also explained how the different nature of his and Varun helped Kolkata to trap RR batters. "My job was to keep it tight, so that he can build the pressure and maybe get wickets. I'm used to bowling with someone who is better than me and has more mystery than me. My job is to bowl as tight as I can and hopefully that builds pressure for that person to then get wickets. Varun is bowling outstandingly well as we know and he is a brilliant bowler. He has improved so much over the last two-three years. It is amazing to bowl with somebody like that," remarked Moeen.
Kolkata will next clash against Mumbai Indians on March 31
KKR’s next clash will be against Mumbai Indians (MI) at the Wankhede Stadium on March 31. At the iconic venue, Kolkata have won only two matches against Mumbai out of 11 encounters. In 2024, they tasted success against MI at Wankhede for the first time after a long gap of 12 years.
Mumbai have an upper hand over Kolkata when it comes to head-to-head. Both squared off against each other on 34 occasions and KKR have emerged victorious only 11 times while the five-time champions have bagged 23 wins. In 2024, Kolkata hammered Mumbai twice.
