KKR vs RR Highlights, IPL 2025: Riyan Parag's 95 in vain as Kolkata Knight Riders beat Rajasthan Royals to keep playoff hopes alive

Moeen Ali to Yashasvi Jaiswal, Flatter, short and on leg, angling in, Yashasvi Jaiswal nudges it through mid-wicket for a single.

Moeen Ali to Yashasvi Jaiswal, Moeen Ali begins with a floated delivery, full and on middle, Yashasvi Jaiswal goes for the slog but mistimes it high in the air. It lands well behind mid-wicket as Andre Russell chases after it and slides to make a stop. He flicks the ball back to Varun Chakaravarthy, who also converges in from the inner ring. Two runs taken.

Hmm... interesting. It will be the spin of Moeen Ali from the other end.

Vaibhav Arora to Kunal Singh Rathore, Touch fuller, on middle, shapes away, Kunal Singh Rathore taps it towards covers and wants the run but is sent back. 5 runs and a wicket from the first over then!

Vaibhav Arora to Kunal Singh Rathore, On a length and around off, angling away, Kunal Singh Rathore leaves it alone.

The debutant for RR, Kunal Singh Rathore, is in at number 3.

Vaibhav Arora to Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, OUT! TAKEN SUPERBLY! Skipper Ajinkya Rahane leading from the front! Vaibhav Arora lands this one back of a length and around off, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi stays back and looks to pull it away but gets it more from the upper half of the bat. The ball goes miles up in the air behind mid-wicket. Rahane covers a lot of ground running backward and dives to take a stunning catch with both his hands in his front. He is pumped up, and why not, as they get the dangerous Vaibhav Sooryavanshi cheaply here. He departs on 4 (2).

Vaibhav Arora to Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, FOUR! Vaibhav Sooryavanshi gets off the mark in style! Fuller one and around off, shaping away, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi leans onto his drive nicely and creams it through covers for a boundary.

Vaibhav Arora to Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rajasthan Royals are underway in the chase now! On a length and on off, Yashasvi Jaiswal dabs it towards backward point for a single.

Vaibhav Arora to Yashasvi Jaiswal, Excellent stop! Vaibhav Arora starts with a short-of-a-length delivery, outside off, Yashasvi Jaiswal cuts it away wide of point. Moeen Ali dives to his right and makes a great one-handed stop.

Welcome back for RR's response with the bat. The umpires and players make their way out to the middle. After a brief huddle talk, Kolkata Knight Riders spread out to the field. KKR use Harshit Rana as their Impact Sub, as he is swapped in for Angkrish Raghuvanshi. Next, out walks the opening pair of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi for Rajasthan Royals. And it will be Vaibhav Arora to open the attack for KKR with the new ball. Off we go...

... THE RUN CHASE ...

So, another 200-plus target to chase for Rajasthan Royals then. They brought in the control with spin, but certainly the pacers didn't support much. Now then, their openers are again tasked to provide a whirlwind start for the men in pink, as this doesn't look like an easy track to bat on, especially when the ball is tossed to the spinners. The likes of Varun Chakaravarthy and Sunil Narine must be licking their lips to operate on this surface, and against an already vulnerable RR middle order. Let's see how the RR batters, particularly the middle order, bat against them. Stay tuned, run chase up in a bit.

The man of the moment, Andre Russell of KKR, is up for a chat. He says that age is just a number and he still feels like 27. Adds that he is very happy with the performance and they know how important this game is for them. Mentions that it is a good total but they still have to be smart and execute their plans with the ball. Says that he was 2 off 8 balls, but the pitch was a bit slow and their spinners were bowling good lengths, so he did not want to risk at that time. Further adds that, his strong point is to get the spinners away, but he couldn't in this game. However, he knows what he can do at the back end and is happy that it worked out.

With a streak of fours and sixes, Russell got off to his fifty very quickly and provided much-needed propulsion for KKR, with Rinku too joining in the party with a few lusty blows. With this six-hitting spree, KKR sprang from 113/3 in 14 overs to 206/4, with 85 runs coming in the last 5 overs. All the pacers took a beating, with Akash Madhwal alone going for his half century with the ball, conceding 50 runs in his three overs.

Rahane's promising innings was cut short after an untimely cramp struck him, which further derailed the momentum once again. While young Raghuvanshi held his ground at one end, Russell initially floundered against the spinners, but once pace was brought on, he didn't spare any loose deliveries thrown at him. And once he started to find the middle of the bat, there was no stopping him as he carted RR's bowling attack, making them travel across the park in the death overs. 

Just as momentum seemed to be swinging firmly in Kolkata's favor, with the Rahane-Gurbaz stand crossing the 50-run mark, another wicket tilted the scales back toward equilibrium. Rajasthan's spin triumvirate seized control on the increasingly sluggish surface, applying the brakes magnificently. The Knight Riders' middle-overs struggle was evident as they managed a mere 57 runs between overs 7 and 14, with the aging ball finding grip on the deteriorating pitch. 

KKR's innings began with an early setback as the dynamic Sunil Narine fell cheaply within the first three overs, leaving them searching for stability. Rahane and Gurbaz rose to the occasion, navigating the tricky variable bounce with calculated aggression and timely boundaries. Their partnership laid a solid foundation, propelling KKR to a respectable 56/1 by the end of the Powerplay. 

Finally, the Eden Gardens was treated with the DRE RUSS SHOW! A long drought with the bat for him came to an end, and to be very fair to him, he just hasn't got enough balls to play in this season. But, today was the opportunity for him and he didn't waste it at all. The spinners weaved a web around the KKR batters in the mid overs, but RR certainly lost their momentum coming towards the backend. A painful recurring problem for them has been the death bowling and the bowlers were carted right, left and centre.

Akash Madhwal to Rinku Singh, An anti-climactic end to the innings! Akash Madhwal bangs in a good bouncer, on middle, Rinku Singh swings at it but misses. Kolkata Knight Riders finish on 206/4!

Akash Madhwal to Rinku Singh, SIX! TWO IN TWO FOR RINKU! Akash Madhwal misses the yorker and bowls another low full toss, on middle. Rinku Singh goes down on one knee and flicks it away to the deep square leg fence where it lands directly on the boundary cushions for a six.

Akash Madhwal to Rinku Singh, SIX! Rinku Singh joins the party now! A low full toss, on middle, Rinku crouches low and deposits it over the deep square leg fence for a biggie. 200 up for KKR now!

Akash Madhwal to Rinku Singh, FOUR! Good shot! Akash Madhwal bangs this one into the pitch, on middle, Rinku Singh cannot quite get over the bounce but muscles it away between deep mid-wicket and long on for a boundary.

Akash Madhwal to Rinku Singh, Short of a length and on middle, Rinku Singh looks to pull but miscues it over the bowler's head and comes back for the second run.

Akash Madhwal to Andre Russell, In the air...safe! Pitched up, outside off, takes pace off, Andre Russell throws his bat at it but gets a top edge. However, it lands between the long off and extra covers fielder. A single is taken.

Akash Madhwal to Andre Russell, A slower one, full but again outside the guideline, Andre Russell offers no shot at it. Three wides in a row now.

Akash Madhwal to Andre Russell, Again misses the wide yorker, way outside off, Andre Russell lets it go. Wided again.

Akash Madhwal to Andre Russell, Fuller one but well outside off, Andre Russell leaves it alone. Wided.

Akash Madhwal to wrap up the first innings with the last over. His figures read 2-0-29-0 so far.

Jofra Archer to Andre Russell, DROPPED! A very tough chance though! A low full toss, on off, Andre Russell lofts it hard and wide of long off. Riyan Parag runs to his right quickly and dives, gets his hands on it, but it just does not stick in and parries the ball to the converging long on fielder. They cross for a single.

Jofra Archer to Andre Russell, FOUR! Nicely played! Change of pace, short of a length and on middle, Andre Russell reads it early, gets on top of it and pulls it wide of deep square leg for a boundary.

Jofra Archer to Andre Russell, SIX! FIFTY FOR DRE RUSS! Everyone at the Eden Gardens is applauding this stellar knock and KKR needed this badly. Jofra Archer misses his length and bowls a full toss, on the body of the batter. Andre Russell just uses the pace of the ball and whips it flat over the deep square leg fence for a biggie. 12th IPL fifty for Andre Russell and his job ain't over yet!

Jofra Archer to Andre Russell, Jofra Archer nails the yorker this time, on middle, angling in, Andre Russell digs it back to the bowler.

Jofra Archer to Rinku Singh, Slower one again, back of a length and on off, Rinku Singh swipes it through mid-wicket for a single.

Rinku Singh is in at number 6.

Jofra Archer to Angkrish Raghuvanshi, OUT! TAKEN! Jofra Archer strikes! He bowls the back-of-the-hand slower one, on a length and around leg. Angkrish Raghuvanshi looks to hook it over short fine but gets a bit of a top edge. The ball flies high towards deep square leg. Ashok Sharma (Sub) runs to his right, settles under it, and takes a good catch. Raghuvanshi departs for a well-made 44 off 31, and KKR are 172/4!

Jofra Archer (3-0-18-0) to bowl the penultimate over.

Maheesh Theekshana to Andre Russell, SIX MORE! Make that three in a row! Dre Russ doing what he does best here. Maheesh Theekshana goes around the wicket and fires this one full, outside off. Andre Russell has his eyes set now and swats it over the long off fence for half a dozen more. 23 runs off the over, 36 in the last 2!

Looks like the ball is lost in the crowd. The fourth umpire is out with the briefcase of replacement balls. A new ball has been selected and we are good to go.

Maheesh Theekshana to Andre Russell, SIX! Wow...that's huge! Tossed up, full and on middle and off. Dre Russ gets underneath the ball and launches it high and handsomely way over the bowler's head for another six. 94 METERS! The crowd has come alive at the Gardens now.

Maheesh Theekshana to Andre Russell, SIX! Into the stands! Maheesh Theekshana drags his length back a bit and around off. Andre Russell swings through the line and whacks it over the wide long on fence for a biggie.

Maheesh Theekshana to Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Uppish but safe! Flighted, full and on off, Angkrish Raghuvanshi goes for the big short again but gets a top edge that lands well in front of long off. They cross.

Maheesh Theekshana to Angkrish Raghuvanshi, FOUR! Just short! Floated, full and on off, Angkrish Raghuvanshi tries to loft it away but slices it towards long off. Riyan Parag runs forward from long off, but slightly misjudges the trajectory of the ball, dipping in front of him. He goes to take the catch sideways, and dives but fails to reach it as the ball swerves away from him and to the boundary.

Maheesh Theekshana to Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Swing and a miss!, Flatter, full and around off, Angkrish Raghuvanshi goes down across to swipe it away but misses.

Maheesh Theekshana is back into the attack. He is 3-0-18-1 so far and replaces Akash Madhwal.

Jofra Archer to Andre Russell, A slower bouncer now, on middle, Andre Russell ducks under it.

Jofra Archer to Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Slower again, on a length and on off, Angkrish Raghuvanshi taps it to the off side for a quick one.

Jofra Archer to Andre Russell, Takes pace off, back of a length and on middle, Andre Russell heaves it to deep mid-wicket for a run.

Jofra Archer to Andre Russell, FOUR! SMACKED! Pitched up and around middle this time, Andre Russell gets right under it and smashes it over the bowler's head for a boundary.

Jofra Archer to Andre Russell, SIX! Clears the fence! Jofra Archer just misses the yorker and serves a low full toss, on middle. Andre Russell slogs it hard but does not get it from the middle of the bat. It goes off the toe-end but clears long on with ease for a biggie.