The 36th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, played at Eden Gardens, Kolkata, witnessed a nail-biting finish, as Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) emerged victorious by a mere margin of one run against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).
RCB won the toss and elected to field first.
Openers Phillip Salt and Sunil Narine provided a flying start to KKR’s innings, stitching together a 50-run partnership within the first four overs. However, the visitors clawed their way back into the contest by claiming four quick wickets, dismissing Salt (48 off 14), Narine (10), Angkrish Raghuvanshi (3), and Venkatesh Iyer (16).
Shreyas Iyer, with his first fifty of the season (50 off 35), and Rinku Singh (24 off 16) steadied the ship for the home team. Andre Russell‘s late cameo of 27* runs off 20 balls and Ramandeep Singh’s quickfire 24* off 9 balls propelled KKR to a competitive total of 222-6, their third 200+ score in IPL 2024.
The visitors’ chase began on a shaky note as they lost their star batsman Virat Kohli (18 off 7) and skipper Faf du Plessis (7) early on. Despite the early setbacks, Will Jacks (40 off 19) kept RCB in the hunt, helping them reach 74-2 at the end of the powerplay.
The partnership between Jacks and Rajat Patidar (52 off 45) revived RCB’s hopes as they added 100 runs for the third wicket. However, the tide turned again with DreRuss dismissing both Jacks and Patidar in the same over. Narine further dented RCB’s chase by removing Cameron Green and Mahipal Lomror in quick succession.
Dinesh Karthik, playing his landmark 250th IPL match, and Suyash Prabhudessai (24 off 18) built a 32-run partnership, but tight bowling in the death overs kept the pressure on RCB. With the required run rate climbing, Prabhudessai succumbed to the pressure and was dismissed. Russell followed it up by removing Karthik (25 off 18) in the next over.
The last over turned into a dramatic affair. Needing 20 runs for victory, Karn Sharma emerged as an unlikely hero for RCB. He smashed three sixes off Mitchell Starc to bring them back into the game. However, with just three runs needed off two balls, Starc held his nerve and dismissed Sharma, handing the two-time IPL champions a narrow one-run victory. This win marks the narrowest margin of victory for KKR in terms of runs in IPL history, while it’s the narrowest defeat by runs for RCB.
Andre Russell was adjudged Player of the Match for his all-round performance, contributing 27 unbeaten runs and taking three crucial wickets.
This win propels Kolkata to the second position in the points table with five wins from seven matches. Meanwhile, Bengaluru remain at the bottom of the table, having suffered their fifth consecutive defeat.
Scorecard:
Kolkata Knight Riders: 222-6, Overs 20, Shreyas Iyer 50, Cameron Green 2/35
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: 221, Overs 20, Will Jacks 55, Andre Russell 3/25