Kolkata: Andre Russell roared back to form with a blistering unbeaten fifty as Kolkata Knight Riders resisted Riyan Parag’s stunning 95 to edge out Rajasthan Royals by one-run in an IPL thriller that kept the defending champions’ slim playoff hopes alive here on Sunday.
Russell, who had been under scrutiny for his indifferent form this season, smashed a 25-ball 57 as KKR smashed 85 runs in the last five overs to post a commanding 206/4.
In reply, Rajasthan found themselves in tatters at 71/5 inside eight overs and they needed 105 runs from the last 48 balls, before stand-in skipper Parag kept their hopes alive through his knock off 45 balls (6×4, 8×6).
But smart bowling changes from skipper Ajinkya Rahane ensured that Parag got out five short of his maiden IPL century, before Vaibhav Arora held his nerves under pressure in the final over, keeping RR down to 205/8.
The Royals required 22 runs off the last over but Impact Shubham Dube launched Arora for two sixes and a four to bring the equation down to three runs off the final delivery.
But a smart field switch by Rahane placing Rinku Singh at long-off proved decisive as his sharp throw found Arora at non-striker’s end who ran out Jofra Archer to seal the thrilling win.
KKR now have 11 points from as many games and have moved up to sixth on the points table but still need to win the remaining three matches to have a sniff at the play-offs.
Before the tense finale, RR’s chase began in ominous fashion. Vaibhav Suryavanshi (4) departed in the first over and Kunal Singh Rathore followed for a duck, leaving Royals reeling at 8/2 in the second over.
However, Parag injected urgency with three crisp boundaries and two sixes. Yashasvi Jaiswal (34 off 21 balls) unsettled Varun Chakravarthy with back-to-back fours as Royals recovered to maintain a healthy run-rate of just under 10 in the Power Play.
While Harshit Rana leaked 28 runs in two overs and Arora too was expensive, KKR turned to spin twins Moeen Ali and Chakravarthy who turned the game around, sharing four wickets between them to reduce Royals to 71/5.
Moeen broke the rhythm of RR, dismissing Jaiswal. Rinku sprinted in from long-on and completed a sharp diving catch to give KKR the breakthrough.
Rahane then made a smart call to bring back Chakravarthy from the other end and it paid off immediately. The mystery spinner bowled a game-changing over, striking twice in three balls, cleaning up Dhruv Jurel and Wanindu Hasaranga with googlies.
But what followed was absolute carnage with Parag launching into Moeen in the 13th over, smashing the off-spinner for five consecutive sixes in a jaw-dropping 32-run over.
In the process, Parag raced to his maiden fifty of the season in just 27 balls and added 92 runs for the sixth wicket with Shimron Hetmyer.
But Narine’s tidy last over heaped pressure on both the batters as Rana dismissed Hetmyer with a lifter in the next over. With 38 runs needed off the last 18 balls, Parag went big but holed out to Arora at long-on.
Earlier, coming into the match with just 72 runs from seven innings at an average of 10.28, Russell changed the ordinary script.
The 37-year-old Jamaican recovered from a slow start (2 off 9 balls) to finish with a staggering strike rate of 228.00.
Russell unleashed his fury in the final five overs, transforming a middling KKR total into a formidable one.
In the 16th over, Russell tore into pacer Akash Madhwal, smashing him for 4, 6, and 4.
Russell found a reliable partner in young Angkrish Raghuvanshi, who made 44 off 31 balls (5×4), as the pair stitched together a 61-run stand from just 33 balls
Rahane (30 off 24) and Rahmanullah Gurbaz (35 off 25) earlier added 56 runs off 33 balls.
