Moeen Ali thinks he did well with the ball while filling in for Kolkata Knight Riders’ main spinner, Sunil Narine, in their match against Rajasthan Royals in the IPL 2025. KKR had to play without Narine, who couldn’t make it due to illness, so captain Ajinkya Rahane turned to Moeen for help.
Moeen did a solid job, keeping the Rajasthan batsmen guessing even though the pitch wasn’t spinning much. He finished with 2 for 23 on his first game for the team. Varun Chakravarthy was also impressive, taking 2 for 17, and together they helped limit Rajasthan to 151 runs.
Moeen was happy to play in a supporting role to Chakravarthy. He explained, I came on before him, so my job was to bowl tightly and build pressure for him to take wickets. I’m used to playing alongside bowlers who are better than me, and I try to do my part.
Despite retiring from international cricket, Moeen is still active in leagues and wants to keep performing well. He got his first wicket by getting Yashasvi Jaiswal out and impressed everyone when he bowled Nitish Rana. It was a classic off-spin dismissal, with the ball turning nicely and hitting the stumps.
He shared that he found out about his debut earlier that day when Narine became unavailable, but he felt he did a decent job stepping in. After restricting Rajasthan, Quinton de Kock scored a quick 97*, leading KKR to an 8-wicket win.
