The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) pulled off a nail-biting one-run victory over the Rajasthan Royals (RR) in a clash at Eden Gardens, Kolkata. KKR skipper Ajinkya Rahane won the toss and chose to bat first.
The opening batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz gave a solid start by scoring 35 off 25 balls. Rahane also chipped in with a steady 30 from 24 deliveries. The young Angkrish Raghuvanshi impressed in the middle overs by smashing 44 off 31 balls.
But, the Caribbean Andre Russell lit up the stadium with an unbeaten 57 off just 25 balls, which included six towering sixes. KKR posted a formidable total of 206 in their 20 overs. From RRās bowlers, Jofra Archer was economical by conceding 30 runs in his four overs and taking a wicket.
In the second innings, RR was led by their skipper Riyan Parag, who almost single-handedly turned the game in their favour with a brilliant knock of 95 off 45 balls which included eight massive sixes. The wickets kept tumbling at the other end, even a two in an over by Varun Chakravarthy, but Parag kept his composure. He launched an assault on Moeen Ali by smashing five sixes in a single over.
Vaibhav Arora held his nerve when needed 22 runs off the final over. The first two deliveries went for just three runs, but Impact Player Shubham Dubey turned the over by hitting two sixes and a four in the next three balls, which left RR needing just three runs off the final delivery. The right-arm pacer delivered a good final ball by restricting the batters to just a single and sealed a one-run win for the home side.
This win made KKR secure the fifth victory of the season by placing them sixth on the points table. Meanwhile, RR have already been eliminated from the IPL 2025 and registered another loss to their campaign.
Also Read: Stats: Andre Russell becomes first overseas IPL player to score 1000 runs at Eden Gardens, Kolkata
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