Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], May 4 (ANI): A magnificent fighting 95 from skipper Riyan Parag went in vain as defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) held their nerves to deny Rajasthan Royals (RR) a win, leaving them one run short at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Sunday.
Chasing 207 runs, RR was 71/5, but a 92-run stand between Parag and Shimron Hetmyer and fireworks from Shubham Dubey and Jofra Archer almost took them home, until the pair failed to complete a double on the final ball to push the match into a Super Over.
KKR is at sixth spot with five wins and five losses, giving them 10 points and keeping their defence alive. RR is at eighth, with three wins and nine losses, giving them six points.
During the run-chase of 207 runs, RR found themselves at backfoot after a young Vaibhav Suryavanshi lost his wicket to Vaibhav Arora for just four runs after dispatching him for a boundary and Kunal Singh Rathore was caught by Andre Russell at mid-on on a Moeen Ali delivery. RR was 8/2 in 1.5 overs.
Skipper Riyan Parag and Yashasvi Jaiswal took to attack against the pace pair of Vaibhav and Harshit Rana, with both hitting a six each against Vaibhav and then Parag dismantling Rana with two fours and a six.
Jaiswal was dealing in fours, collecting two of them against Varun Chakravarthy in the next over and ending the powerplay with a hat-trick of fours against Rana. RR was 50-up in 5.2 overs. At the end of six overs, RR was 59/2, with Jaiswal (32*) and Parag (22*) unbeaten.
Moeen put an end to a 58-run partnership between the duo, with Rinku Singh taking a fine diving catch to remove Jaiswal for 34 in 21 balls, with five fours and a six. RR is 66/3 in seven overs.
In the eighth over, Chakravarthy shifted the game in KKR’s favour, removing Dhruv Jurel and Wanindu Hasaranga for ducks. RR was 71/5 in 7.5 overs.
At the end of 10 overs, RR was 82/5, with Parag (34*) and Shimron Hetmyer (8*) unbeaten.
Parag and Hetmyer collected boundaries in later overs, bringing RR to 100-run mark in 11.5 overs.
Moeen was taken down brilliantly by Parag in the 13th over, what was a game-turning match for RR. Parag launched him for five sixes, bringing up his first fifty in 27 balls, with five fours and three sixes.
At the end of 15 overs, RR was at 155/5, with Hetmyer (28*) and Parag (86*) unbeaten.
The partnership was broken by Harshit as a fine catch by Narine removed Hetmyer for 29 in 23 balls, with a four and six. After the breaking of this 92-run stand, RR was 163/6 in 15.5 overs.
Riyan’s wonderful effort came to an end with Harshit getting his wicket, with a fine catch from Vaibhav. He was gone for 95 in 45 balls, with six fours and eight sixes. RR was 173/7 in 17.4 overs.
Jofra Archer and Shubham Dubey continued the chase, with 22 runs needing in the final over. Dubey smashed Vaibhav for six, four, six, but failed to complete the two runs on the final over to take the game to the final over. RR finished at 205/8 in their 20 overs, with Shubham (25* in 14 balls, with a four and two sixes) and Archer run out for 12 runs.
Varun (2/32), Harshit (2/41) and Moeen (2/43) were the top wicket-takers for KKR.
Earlier, impactful innings from Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) all-rounder Andre Russell and young batter Angkrish Raghuvanshi powered KKR to a commanding 206/4 in their 20 overs against Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) at Eden Gardens on Sunday.
After winning the toss, KKR skipper Ajinkya Rahane opted to bat first. Sunil Narine and Rahmanullah Gurbaz opened the innings.
Following a tight first over by RR pacer Jofra Archer, Yudhvir Singh Charak struck in the second over, dismissing Narine for 11 off 9 balls as he attempted to accelerate the scoring.
Rahane joined Gurbaz, and together they took on the bowlers, taking KKR to 56/1 at the end of the powerplay.
The momentum continued after the fielding restrictions, with 11 runs coming off Wanindu Hasaranga’s over in the seventh.
Maheesh Theekshana dismissed Gurbaz in the eighth over for 35 off 25 balls, which included four fours and a six. Angkrish Raghuvanshi then joined the KKR captain at the crease.
At the halfway mark, KKR were 85/2 with Rahane on 24* and Raghuvanshi on 11*. The team crossed the 100-run mark in the 12th over.
RR skipper Riyan Parag dismissed Rahane for 30 off 24 balls in the 13th over, an innings that featured two sixes and a four. Andre Russell walked in to join Raghuvanshi.
The Sri Lankan spin duo of Hasaranga and Theekshana tightened the run flow in the middle overs with disciplined bowling.
However, Russell counter-attacked in the 16th over, smashing 15 runs off Akash Madhwal, including two fours and a six.
Russell and Raghuvanshi brought up a 50-run partnership for the fourth wicket in just 31 balls. Russell then launched three sixes off Theekshana in his final over.
Archer returned to remove Raghuvanshi in the 19th over for a well-made 44 off 31 balls, which included five boundaries. Rinku Singh came in for the final overs.
Russell reached his first half-century of the season off just 22 balls in the 19th over. He and Rinku Singh hammered 22 runs in the final over bowled by Madhwal.
For RR, Jofra Archer, Yudhvir Singh, Maheesh Theekshana, and Riyan Parag picked up a wicket each.
Brief Score: KKR 206/4 (Andre Russell 57, Angkrish Raghuvanshi 44; Jofra Archer 1/30) beat RR: 205/8 (Riyan Parag 95, Yashasvi Jaiswal 34, Varun Chakravarthy 2/32). (ANI)
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