Quinton de Kock and New Zealand players [Source: @IPL, @BLACKCAPS/x]
KKR secured an easy win over Rajasthan Royals in the sixth match of the IPL 2025 season. KL Rahul will reportedly be making his return for the Delhi Capitals later this month. In other news, the PCB has named its women’s squad for the upcoming Women’s World Cup 2025 qualifiers.
Capping an eventful day in the world of cricket, here we take a look at five of the biggest cricketing news that emerged out of Wednesday, March 26.
Quinton De Kock Pummels RR As KKR Clinch Big Win
Defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) mowed down Rajasthan Royals with eight wickets and 15 balls to spare in match six of IPL 2025 in Guwahati. Chasing 152 for a win, KKR opener Quinton de Kock muscled 97 unbeaten runs from just 61 balls with eight boundaries and six huge sixes.
Earlier in the match, Rajasthan Royals conjured 151-9 from 20 overs after being invited to bat first. Wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel top-scored in the innings with a calculated 33 from 28 balls while blistering opener Yashasvi Jaiswal compiled 29 at the top of the order. For the KKR, spinners Moeen Ali and Varun Chakravarthy picked up two wickets each in the innings, and so did fast bowlers Vaibhav Arora and Harshit Rana.
Fatima Sana To Lead As PAK Name Women’s Squad For WC Qualifiers
The PCB named their 15-player Pakistan women’s squad for the upcoming 2025 Women’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier. Fatima Sana is set to lead the team, and wicketkeeper-batter Muneeba Ali will serve as her deputy.
The six-team tournament will be played between April 9 and April 19 across two different Pakistani venues, namely the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore and the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad. The top two teams from the competition will qualify for the 2025 Women’s Cricket World Cup in India, set to be played later this year.
KL Rahul Set For Capitals Debut Vs SRH
Senior Indian batter KL Rahul is set to make his debut for the Delhi Capitals franchise through the upcoming IPL 2025 match against SRH. It is worth noting that the wicketkeeper-batter opted himself out of Delhi Capitals’ opening match of the season against LSG to spend time with his family on the occasion of the birth of his child with wife Athiya Shetty.
As reported by the Times of India, Rahul will be available to play the forthcoming fixture of the Capitals. The match against Sunrisers Hyderabad will be hosted by the ACA–VDCA Cricket Stadium in Vishakhapatnam on Sunday, March 30 later this month.
Seifert Bludgeons 97* As New Zealand Win Series 4-1
New Zealand completed a 4-1 routing of Pakistan in the five-match T20I series with a comprehensive eight-wicket win in the fifth match. Winning the toss and fielding first, New Zealand fast bowler James Neesham picked up career-best T20 figures of 5-22 to restrict the ‘Men in Green’ for just 128-9 from 20 overs. New-ball operator Jacob Duffy also chipped in with the prized scalps of Hasan Nawaz and Omair Yousuf to bag figures of 2-18.
In response, New Zealand opener Tim Seifert bludgeoned 97 unbeaten runs from just 38 balls with six boundaries and 10 huge sixes while Finn Allen made 27 off 12 as the hosts romped through their target with 10 overs to spare.
Haris Rauf Likely To Feature In NZ ODIs For Pakistan
Pakistan fast bowler Haris Rauf has been reportedly included in the squad for their upcoming three-match ODI series against New Zealand. The ‘Men in Green’ speedster recently impressed one-and-all by picking up eight wickets in just four matches in the T20I series against the same opponents earlier this month.
While Rauf was not selected in the original Pakistan ODI squad as announced earlier, a senior Pakistan journalist Sohail Imran claimed that the team management and the selection committee has reportedly made a last-minute change for the series.