Kolkata Knight Riders edged out Rajasthan Royals by a single run in an Indian Premier League match on Saturday, securing a victory that improves their standing for the playoffs. Kolkata Knight Riders successfully defended a target of 207, limiting Rajasthan Royals to 205 for 8 in their 20 overs.
The match became the 15th instance of an IPL match list being decided by just one run. The close finish keeps KKR's playoff hopes alive, while Rajasthan Royals is out of contention for the title this season.
Riyan Parag led the chase for RR with a rapid 95 from 45 deliveries. Yashasvi Jaiswal added 34 and Shimron Hetmyer contributed 29, but the team could not cross the line.
KKR's bowlers delivered under pressure in the IPL match. Varun Chakravarthy took 2 wickets for 32 runs, Moeen Ali finished with 2 for 43, Harshit Rana claimed 2 for 41, and Vaibhav Arora picked up 1 for 50.
Earlier, Andre Russell powered KKR to 206 for 4 with a 25-ball 57 not out. Angkrish Raghuvanshi made 44, Rahmanullah Gurbaz scored 35, and captain Ajinkya Rahane added 30, building a foundation for the high score.
In the Knight Riders vs Royals encounter, Rajasthan's bowlers Jofra Archer, Yudhvir Singh Charak, Maheesh Theekshana, and Riyan Parag each took one wicket.
The final over saw Shubham Dubey needing 22 runs for Royals to win. He hit two fours and a six off Vaibhav Arora, leaving three runs required off the last ball. Dubey hit the yorker to long-on and attempted to force a Super Over, but was run out by Rinku Singh's throw as Jofra Archer sprinted from the non-striker's end.
The KKR vs RR contest adds to the history of close finishes at Eden Gardens, which has hosted multiple one-run thrillers.
Andre Russell received the Player of the Match award for his performance.
"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," Russell said after the match. "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 hit boundaries at the end and Rinku also got a few away at the end."
