In the 53rd match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) defeated Rajasthan Royals (RR) by one run at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
KKR won the toss and opted to bat first. Rahmanullah Gurbaz (35) and Sunil Narine (11) got a powerful start, with boundaries coming right from the first over. However, the southpaw batter got out pretty early, but from the other end, the Afghan batters kept on scoring boundaries. Captain Ajinkya Rahane (30) further added a few more runs in the middle over along with Angkrish Raghuvanshi (44). The star of the innings, however, was Andre Russell (57*). The giant came out to bat in the 13th over before other batters, and the decision did not disappoint. The muscular man hit four fours and six sixes in his knock of fifty to take the total to 206/4. In the last over, Rinku Singh (19*) also fired two sixes and a boundary, which helped the side go in the dressing room with the momentum.
For RR in the chase, Yashasvi Jaiswal (34) got going from one end, scoring five fours and a six in his inning. Captain Riyan Parag (94) was proving to be game-changing as he had a thunderous outing. The knock, which was played at a strike rate of 211.11, included six fours and eight massive sixes, out of which six were hit consecutively. Shimron Hetmyer (29) also had a handy contribution, but it was his wicket and the inability of Shubham Dubey to hit which caused Riyan’s wicket in the end, which proved to be match-winning for KKR. With 21 to get in the final over, Dubey hammered two sixes and a four but ultimately lost by one run.
While defending, two wickets each were taken by Varun Chakaravarthy, Harshit Rana and Moeen Ali. One wicket was also grabbed by Vaibhav Arora.
For RR with the ball, one wicket each was grabbed by Jofra Archer, Yudhvir Singh, Maheesh Theekshana and Riyan Parag.
With this win, KKR keep their playoffs chances alive, as they now have 11 points.
Scorecard:
Kolkata Knight Riders: 206/4, Overs 20, Andre Russell 57*, Riyan Parag 1/21
Rajasthan Royals: 205/8, Overs 20, Riyan Parag 95, Varun Chakaravarthy 2/32
