KKR keep playoff hopes alive with one-run victory against RR
What's the story
Kolkata Knight Riders have kept their IPL 2025 playoff hopes alive after handing Rajasthan Royals a narrow defeat in Match 53 at Eden Gardens on Sunday.
With this win, KKR have completed the double over RR this season.
Batting first, Andre Russell's 57* helped KKR get to 206/4.
In response, RR were 72/5 before Riyan Parag smashed 94. KKR then sealed a final-ball thriller.
KKR
KKR's innings summary
KKR lost Sunil Narine early on (13/1) before Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ajinkya Rahane added 56 runs for the 2nd wicket.
Gurbaz fell at a crucial juncture before Rahane and Angriksh Raghuvashi stitched 42 runs.
Once Rahane departed (111/3), KKR sent Russell in. Another fifty-plus stand followed with Russell picking pace.
In the end, Russell and Rinku Singh helped KKR get to 206/4.
Bowling
How did the RR bowlers perform?
For RR, Jofra Archer picked 1/30 from his 4 overs. He conceded 12 runs in his final over.
Yudhvir Singh picked 1/26 from 2 overs. Theekshana, who started well, ended up on the costlier side (1/41 from 4 overs).
Akash Madhwal suffered, conceding 50 runs from 3 overs.
Wanindu Hasaranga finished wicketless from his 4 overs (0/35).
Riyan Parag claimed 1/21 from 3 overs.
Duel
Maheesh Theekshana dismisses Rahmanullah Gurbaz for 5th time in T20s
Theekshana picked up the wicket of Gurbaz. A fuller ball outside off by Theekshana saw Gurbaz sit down and slog sweep to deep mid-wicket. The Aghanistan opener struck it flat and hard but lacked placement.
As per ESPNcricinfo, across 9 innings in T20s, Gurbaz has scored 86 runs from 50 balls versus Theekshana. The spinner has dismissed Gurbaz on 5 occasions. Gurbaz averages 17.2.
Duo
Gurbaz and Rahane chip in for KKR
Gurbaz slammed 35 runs from 25 balls. He hit four fours and a six. In 18 IPL matches, he has raced to 352 runs at 22. Overall, he has 5,117 runs in the 20-over format.
KKR skipper Rahane contributed with a 24-ball 30. He smashed 1 four and 2 sixes.
He owns 4,969 IPL runs at 30.48. In 2025, he has 327 runs.
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Raghuvanshi shines with 44 runs
Raghuvanshi's anchoring role helped KKR. He scored 44 runs from 31 balls, hitting 5 fours. He now owns 285 runs this season from 10 matches. Overall, he has amassed 448 runs from 20 matches at 32.
Russell
Andre Russell completes 2,500 runs for KKR in IPL
Russell surpassed 2,500 IPL runs for KKR (2,555). He came to the contest needing 2 runs to complete the milestone.
Russell ended up scoring an unbeaten 57 from 25 balls. He smashed four fours and six sixes. He struck at 228.
Notably, he is the 2nd batter with 2,500-plus IPL runs for KKR. Gautam Gambhir managed 3.035 runs for the team at 31.61.
Do you know?
Russell completes 1,000 IPL runs at Eden Gardens
During his knock, Russell surpassed 1,000 IPL runs at Eden Gardens. He came into this contest with 989 runs and was 11 shy of the milestone. He now owns 1,046 runs at this venue. He is the third batter with 1,000-plus runs at Eden Gardens.
Numbers
Russell smashes his 12th fifty in IPL
Russell slammed his 12th fifty in IPL. In 138 matches, he has raced to 2,612 runs at 28.39. His strike rate is 174.24. He now owns 220 sixes and 182 fours.
As per ESPNcricinfo, Russell now owns 257 IPL runs against RR at 25.70. He hit his maiden fifty against the Royals.
Meanwhile, this was also his 32nd fifty in 20 overs cricket.
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Rinku ends on a high
KKR's Rinku provided the finishing touches. He slammed an unbeaten 19 from 6 balls. His knock had 1 four and 2 sixes. He struck at 316.67.
RR
RR fall short by a run
RR were off to a poor start with the score reading 8/2. A 58-run stand followed with Yashasvi Jaiswal and Parag at the crease. However, KKR did well and had RR in trouble at 72/5.
What followed was a solid knock from Riyan Parag, who smashed 94.
RR took the game to the final over but fell short by a run in the 2nd.
Parag
Parag makes record with 5 sixes in an over
Parag hit Moeen Ali for 5 sixes in the 13th over. It helped RR rise.
Parag became the 5th batter with 5 sixes in an over (IPL).
Batters with this record:
Chris Gayle vs Rahul Sharma, 2012
Rahul Tewatia vs S Cotterell, 2020
Ravindra Jadeja vs Harshal Patel, 2021
Rinku Singh vs Yash Dayal, 2023
Riyan Parag vs Moeen Ali, 2025*
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A 92-run stand alongside Hetmyer
Parag and Shimron Hetmyer added 92 runs for the sixth wicket. Hetmyer contributed with 29 runs from 23 balls, hitting one four and a six. From 72/5, these two helped RR to reach 163/6 in a flash.
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Partnership record for Parag and Hetmyer
As per Cricbuzz, the 92-run partnership between Parag and Hetmyer is the highest for the sixth wicket of lower for RR in the IPL. Parag and Hetmyer went past the 85* runs added by Steven Smith and James Faulkner against RCB at Bengaluru in 2014.
Runs
7th IPL fifty and 1,500 runs for Parag
Parag's 95 came from 45 balls. He slammed 6 fours and 8 sixes (SR: 211.11).
Parag has now gone past 1,500 IPL runs. He has 1,550 runs at 26.72 from 82 matches (70 innings). He registered his 7th fifty and a top IPL score.
In 12 matches this season, he hit his maiden fifty and raced to 377 runs.
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Jaiswal hits a 21-ball 34
RR's in-form batter Yashasvi Jaiswal did reasonably well with a 21-ball 34. In 12 matches, he owns 473 runs in IPL 2025 at an average of 43. Overall, he has raced to 2,080 runs at 34.09.
KKR bowlers
Summary of KKR's bowlers
Vaibhav Arora defended KKR's score in the final over. However, he finished with 1/50 from 4 overs.
Harshit Rana finished strongly for KKR. He picked two scalps for 41 runs.
Moeen managed 2/43 from 3 overs. Fellow spinners Varun Chakrvarthy (2/32) and Sunil Narine (0/27) did well in 8 overs between them.
Russell bowled the 19th over and conceded 11 runs.
Do you know?
Varun races to 15 wickets in IPL 2025
Varun has raced to 15 wickets for KKR in IPL 2025 at 20.73. He is currently the 5th-highest wicket-taker this season. Overall in the IPL, he owns 98 wickets. Meanwhile, pacers Arora and Rana own 13 scalps this season for the champions.
Words
Rahane is a satisfied skipper
KKR's Rahane was pleased for his side.
"It was really close but really happy, when you win by one or two runs it gives you a lot of satisafaction. Gurbaz and Angkrish played well and that finish from Russell was really good. The plan was to go hard in the powerplay and then stabilise things till the 12th over," he said after KKR's win.
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A look at the points table
KKR moved to sixth with their 5th win of the season from 11 matches. KKR own 11 points and their NRR is +0.095. RR, who have already been eliminated from the playoff race, sit 8th. It was their 9th defeat.