Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) beat Rajasthan Royals (RR) by just one run in a dramatic IPL 2025 clash at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. KKR looked in cruise control for most of the match, but a scintillating knock of 95 by RR’s stand-in captain Riyan Parag gave them hope of victory, chasing 207. Shubham Dubey nearly pulled off 22 runs in the final over, but a run out on the last ball saw KKR scrape a narrow win.
Earlier, KKR’s star all-rounder Andre Russell returned to form, smashing a 25-ball 57, to help KKR put up 206/4. The win has kept KKR’s playoff hopes alive.
Andre Russell, Player of the Match, said, We all know the importance of this game, we had four games to go and it was like four finals, happy with our performance and the win. I had time to go, so I was not worried about the dot balls that I faced. It was a difficult wicket to go out and start hitting, happy that I was able to hit boundaries at the end and Rinku also got a few away at the end. The scoreboard is the best indication, you have to evaluate the situations, which bowlers you can see off, which bowlers you can target. When I look at the scorecard and I see five overs, I see 30 balls and think if I can face 15 off those balls, I can get 40 runs with my power.
Ajinkya Rahane, said , 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. It was not easy for a new batter so me and Angkrish were talking to take it deep. (On the importance of fielding well) It’s really important, if you can save 10-12 runs on the field it’s great. If you can take a couple of good catches and effect a run-out, it makes all the difference.