It was a match that swung like a pendulum—one moment Rajasthan Royals looked destined to win, the next it was Kolkata Knight Riders in control. One moment, Andre Russell seemed set to be the hero; the next, it was Rajasthan skipper Riyan Parag, smashing six sixes in a row. But in the end, it was Kolkata who held their nerve, sealing a nail-biting one-run victory to keep their IPL playoff hopes alive.
Chasing 207 at Eden Gardens, Rajasthan needed 22 runs off the final over. Shubham Dube nearly pulled off the impossible. After Jofra Archer took a double and single off the first two balls from Vaibhav Arora, Dube smashed a six, four, and another six to bring the equation down to 3 off 1. But while trying to sneak a second run on the last ball, Archer was run out, handing Kolkata the slimmest of victories.
The win took KKR to 11 points from 11 matches, keeping them firmly in the playoff race. Their total of 206 for 4 was built on a brutal final flourish—85 runs came in the last five overs, including 57 in the final three, as Rajasthan’s bowlers lost the plot under pressure.
Andre Russell was the chief destroyer. After scoring just two off his first nine balls, the West Indian all-rounder exploded to hit 55 off his next 16 deliveries, ending unbeaten on 57 from 25 balls with 4 fours and 6 sixes—his first fifty of the season. Rinku Singh also chipped in with 19 from just six balls.
In reply, Rajasthan’s chase stuttered early but was revived by Yashasvi Jaiswal and Riyan Parag’s 58-run partnership. Parag, the stand-in captain, sent Eden into silence with six consecutive sixes across the 13th and 14th overs and powered his way to 95 off 45 balls (6 fours, 8 sixes), falling just five runs short of a maiden T20 century. Simron Hetmyer added some hope, but after his dismissal and Parag’s pressure-induced exit, Rajasthan seemed done.
Enter Shubham Dube. Coming in as an impact substitute, he reignited the contest with a fiery 25 off 14, but in the cruelest of finishes, he too had to walk back—so close, yet so far.