Jofra Archer faced flack from social media, with many fans accusing him of bowling deliberate wide balls to deny Quinton de Kock a century.
Kolkata Knight Riders cruised to their first win of the IPL 2025 season on Wednesday, beating Rajasthan Royals in a largely one-sided contest by 8 wickets. After restricting the home side to 151/9 in Guwahati, the Knight Riders chased the target down with 15 balls to spare, as their opener — Quinton de Kock – remained unbeaten on a brilliant 97.
Rajasthan Royals’ Jofra Archer in action(REUTERS)
However, the South African had a chance to complete his century during the closing stages of the match. De Kock was batting on 91 when KKR needed seven more runs to win the contest, but Jofra Archer wavered off the line, bowling two successive wide deliveries. With five needed, de Kock smashed a six to seal a dominant victory for the Knight Riders, albeit at the cost of his own century.
And even as the South African southpaw didn’t have a particular reaction to being denied a century, many fans on social media took aim at Jofra Archer, claiming that the Englishman deliberately bowled two wides to prevent de Kock from reaching his hundred.
Here are some reactions:
Rajasthan Royals struggled on a sluggish Guwahati surface, limping to 151/9 against Kolkata Knight Riders’ spin duo of Moeen Ali and Varun Chakravarthy. The slow pitch played into KKR’s hands, with Ali returning impressive figures of 2/20 in his four overs.
Rajasthan’s batting lacked fluency, marking their second straight defeat as they failed to adapt to the conditions. Their decision to promote Wanindu Hasaranga over more established batters also backfired, leaving them short of a competitive total.
Quinton de Kock, however, had no such trouble reading the wicket. The South African opener took an aggressive approach against Hasaranga and ensured KKR stayed ahead in the chase. Despite an early mix-up that led to Moeen Ali’s run-out, de Kock remained unfazed. He reached his fifty in style, launching Hasaranga over wide long-on, before finishing the game emphatically in the 18th over. His unbeaten 83-run stand with young Angkrish Raghuvanshi (22* off 17) sealed the win, with de Kock hammering Jofra Archer for two sixes and a boundary to cap off a dominant chase. Archer, enduring another tough outing, finished wicketless yet again, conceding 33 runs.
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