There was a security scare during the IPL 2025 opener between Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at Eden Gardens on Saturday. A fan hopped over the fence and ran onto the field wanting to meet RCB star Virat Kohli. The guy fell at Kohli’s feet, but his excitement got him in trouble, as the Kolkata police detained him for the security breach.
Rajeev Shukla, the vice-president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), commented on the situation on X, noting Kohli’s huge fanbase with the post: Amazing fan following of @imVkohli. However, he faced backlash for seeming to glorify the incident, with fans worried about player safety.
Amazing fan following of @imVkohli https://t.co/L4GUkdJgRq
— Rajeev Shukla (@ShuklaRajiv) March 23, 2025
The fan’s stunt happened right after Kohli hit his half-century. He leaped over the guardrails and ran toward Kohli, who looked surprised when the fan grabbed his legs and went down.
In terms of the match itself, KKR batted first and set a target of 175 runs. Captain Ajinkya Rahane was the top scorer with 56 runs. KKR faced a tough start after losing Quinton de Kock early, but Rahane and Sunil Narine put together a solid partnership of 103 runs until Rasikh Salam broke it up. Josh Hazlewood and Krunal Pandya picked up wickets regularly to limit KKR to 174 runs.
In response, Phil Salt (56) and Virat Kohli (59*) got Bengaluru off to a great start. Salt attacked the bowling while Kohli also made his presence felt during the powerplay. Thanks to Salt’s aggressive batting, RCB reached 80 without losing a wicket, marking their second-best powerplay score in the league’s history. Kohli stayed not out as RCB won the match in the 17th over, finishing with 177/3.
Quick score recap: Kolkata Knight Riders 174/8 (Ajinkya Rahane 56, Sunil Narine 44; Krunal Pandya 3-29) vs. Royal Challengers Bengaluru 177/3 (Virat Kohli 59*, Phil Salt 56; Sunil Narine 1-27).
