In a tense match, the Kolkata Knight Riders claimed victory over the Rajasthan Royals by a narrow margin of one run. Russell top-scored with 57*, supported by Raghuvanshi’s 44, while Parag from the Royals put up a valiant effort with his score of 95. Bowlers Vaun, Harshit, and Moeen each picked up two wickets for the Knight Riders.
KKR and RR were neck and neck in a nail-biting game, with only one run making the difference. The match was an unpredictable ride and victory could have swung either way until the very end. Riyan Parag impressed with his six consecutive sixes, five of which were against Moeen Ali in a 32-run over. Shubham Dubey also played a crucial role, hitting two fours and a six off Vaibhav Arora’s final over to secure 22 runs needed for victory.
Dubey smashed the yorker from Arora to long-off on the final ball, hoping to push for a Super Over. However, Jofra Archer, who was the non-striker, had already started running but was unable to make it in time due to a precise throw by Rinku Singh.
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KKR’s victory has kept their hopes alive for the IPL 2025 playoffs. Their success was largely attributed to Andre Russell’s impressive 57 runs off just 25 balls, which allowed them to score 85 runs in the final five overs and overcome a slowdown against spin. Additionally, Moeen Ali and Varun Chakravarthy played a crucial role in restricting RR during their chase, but Parag came close to turning things around with his own takedown.
Parag infuses energy into RR’s pursuit.
Parag’s face was filled with disappointment when Varun successfully bowled out Wanindu Hasaranga, putting Rajasthan Royals in a difficult position with the daunting task of scoring 136 runs off 73 balls and the required rate soaring to 13. Despite only securing three boundaries in the next four overs, Parag managed to find his rhythm in the last two.
After the 32-run over against Moeen, four of the sixes were hit over square leg or midwicket. When Moeen’s delivery went wide, the ball cleared long-off. The following ball, delivered by Varun, was reverse-swept by Parag for another six.
Hetmyer stuck to his game and maintained a run rate of just over one per ball for most of his innings. Though he was eventually dismissed, his presence on the field provided a sense of reassurance, evident from the two overs without any boundaries following his exit.
Rana masterminds the introduction.
Harshit Rana had a successful outing, maintaining an economy of 0 for 28 in two overs. Despite conceding a boundary on the first ball, he quickly recovered and bowled three full deliveries followed by two shorter ones to restrict the runs. Hetmyer’s attempt to hit the second bouncer resulted in a catch for the keeper.
As RR 43 required off 24, KKR called Narine back onto the field. Despite only conceding five runs, he came close to catching Parag at deep midwicket.
Despite bowling a no-ball with yorkers and slower ones, Rana continued to apply pressure. On the third legal ball, Parag almost got run out. However, on the very next ball, he was caught at long-on while attempting a wide cutter and RR’s score fell to 173 for 7.
In the second to last over, Russell made an appearance and attempted to execute six yorkers, similar to his strategy in the previous game. While he wasn’t able to succeed with all of them, he only conceded 11 runs.
Arora’s strategic plan of bowling a wide yorker kicked off the last over with three runs. Shubham managed to hit two boundaries and a six when Arora changed tactics and bowled a short and wide ball, only to then struggle against two consecutive yorkers. However, Arora persisted with this strategy for the final ball and it ultimately proved successful.
KKR changes gears frequently.
The day began with Sunil Narine and Rahmanullah Gurbaz frequently straying towards the leg side. While Narine was dismissed without scoring many runs, Gurbaz managed to hit four boundaries and a six, mainly on the leg side. Unfortunately, Yudhvir Singh proved to be the most expensive bowler in the 56-run powerplay, conceding boundaries to all top-order batsmen.
Rahane made a strong start, driving and flicking Madhwal for a four and a six. However, his pace significantly decreased as he went from 18 off 8 to 30 off 24 – mostly due to RR’s spin strategy.
Although Gurbaz attempted to slog sweep, Theekshana quickly dismissed him. However, it was Hasaranga’s clever tactics that prevented the batters from relying on pace and instead required them to use brute force. Parag then took over and delivered three consecutive overs. An impressive 76kph side-arm ball brought down Rahane.
As the match progressed, Angkrish Raghuvanshi maintained KKR’s momentum by executing traditional shots. His expertly executed slashes, pulls and drives allowed him to score boundaries effortlessly. Despite receiving a second chance from Theekshana, Russell eventually managed to dismiss him, followed by his downfall at the hands of Archer after scoring 44 runs off 31 balls.
The frenzy surrounding Russell’s death
KKR required a late surge in their batting, which was provided by Russell. The cricketer, feeling youthful at 27 years old, came in during the 13th over when the team’s score was 111 for 3. Although he began slowly with only 2 runs off 9 balls, Russell picked up momentum when the slower spin bowlers were replaced by faster pace bowlers. In the final five overs, KKR amassed 70 runs as Russell hit all six of his fours and four sixes during this period.
Madhwal was the initial bowler to receive a pounding, initially on the leg side with a six and a four, followed by a swift hit through cover point resulting in a 15-run over. Archer’s attempt at two yorkers failed as he overpitched and left the ball in an ideal location for a powerful hit, resulting in another six and four runs being scored down town.
The 18th over saw Theekshana making a comeback with his spin. He managed to create an opportunity for a catch at long-off, which unfortunately was dropped by Parag. Then, a mistimed slice ended up safely at mid-off. This resulted in the strike being passed on from Raghuvanshi to Russell, resulting in three consecutive sixes. With all three deliveries going wide, the first two being short and the third one full, Theekshana was hit in the area between cow corner and long-off.
In the following over, Archer presented two new opportunities. Raghuvanshi was caught at deep square leg, but Russell received another chance from Parag at long-off. This occurred just moments before Russell took advantage of a missed yorker by Archer, achieving a 22-ball fifty and smashing a slower bouncer down the field.
The last over began with three wide deliveries and an edge that fell safely at deep extra cover. Bouncers were then favored over the yorker, until Rinku hit one in front of midwicket. Two failed yorkers resulted in two sixes, leading to both the 18th and 20th overs yielding more than 20 runs each.
