IPL 2025, KKR vs RR Highlights: Riyan Parag’s fireworks Shubham Dubey’s late hits in vain as KKR win Eden Gardens thriller by 1 run

...it is Dharamsala time in the IPL as Punjab Kings finish their home matches in the picturesque Himachal venue. 

PBKS vs LSG is a crucial match in the race for top four with both teams still very much in it. FOLLOW LIVE BLOG.

For the 2nd match in a row, some incredible last over drama. The match looked done and dusted after Riyan Parag's dismissal, but Shubham Dubey gave RR hope. But it is the story of their season, as they miss out on another run-chase. This was good batting in the backend for the most part but RR lost this early in the run-chase. 

Vaibhav nails the yorker off the last ball. That is as good as it gets. Dubey gets it down to long off and takes off. Jofra Archer is determined to come back for two, but Rinku has now been moved to long off, what is he doing there! And he does a brilliant job! A throw on the first bounce and Vaibhav is there to whip the bails off.

KKR HAVE WON BY ONE RUN! WHAT A FINISH! 

Rahane has a long chat, KKR can't quite believe this. Plenty of hand-waving. 3 off 1 ball. 

Can Vaibhav bowl one good ball? Are we in for a Super Over? 

WOW, WOW, WOW. Another missed yorker, it is a low full toss and Dubey nails it down the ground! Vaibhav, what have you done. 

SIX DOWN THE GROUND! RR need 3 off 1 ball. 

19 needed off 4 balls, is Shubham finally having an impact? Short of length ball, smashed over long leg for a huge six. Arora then nearly gets his yorker right from around the wicket, but that's the thing with a yorker, the margins are small. FOUR FOR DUBEY! 

9 off 2 balls! 

Rinku Singh with a stunning dive to prevent a boundary at deep cover off the first ball of the 20th over. 

Has he done some damage to himself there? Holding his groin. KKR have quite a few walking wounded at the moment. 

Not many in the game would be able to come in cold to bowl the first over of the day as the 19th over in a pressure run-chase. But DreRuss is not like many in the game. One four for Archer in that over but it is largely perfect from Russell, finishing the over with a searing yorker. Some good outfielding as well. 

DreRuss leaves RR with 22 to get off the last over. KKR have been spot on with their tactics in the backend. 

Vaibhav Arora to bowl. 

It has been a poor night till then from Rana, but what a way to finish his spell. Just 5 runs and the HUGE WICKET of Parag. If KKR somehow go onto make the playoffs that Rana over could be the key. 

First, a no ball from Rana. But he bowls a terrific slower ball to Dubey to make it a dot off the free hit. Then next ball, Dubey once again completely misses a cutter. Looked close to LBW. But Gurbaz misses the chance to run Parag out as they sneak a bye. Parag had given up there. But next ball, Parag finds the fielder at long on. 

NO CENTURY, but terrific innings. Unfortunately, likely heading to another defeat. 

Correction, not Russell. But Harshit Rana to bowl the 18th over. 

Turning into a fine last over from Narine. Three singles off the first four balls... and nearly a wicket off the fifth and penultimate ball. PArag takes on the challenge, over midwicket, Rinku puts in a spirited dive but couldn't get underneath it. Gavaskar is full of praise of Rinku's efforts there though. Tough chance. Narine finishes with 0/27. 

38 needed off 18 balls for RR. More importantly, for KKR's playoff hopes, three big overs coming up, Russell gets the ball in hand. 

Shubham Dubey, as has been the case, comes in as a late batting impact sub. Hasn't been able to finish matches this season when called upon, can he join his captain today to seal the deal? KKR need Parag's wicket and they can hope. 

Rana's night was turning out quote ordinary. An off-cutter to start the over and Parag punches it through cover. Rinku, usually a top boundary-rider, messes this one up. A four to start off the over... but he bounces back! Quite literally. Dug in short and Hetmyer goes for the big pull but he has taken his eyes off the ball. Caught at short third man. But hang on, Hetmyer reviews this. But the ball has clearly hit the bat before hitting him on the helmet. Wasted review. 

Shimron Hetmyer c Sunil Narine b Harshit Rana 29 (23 balls)

We have been here this season already. RR bat so well for a majority of the run-chase but falter at the end. This Riyan Parag stunner has brought them close to the finish line, and he is nearing a century as well. Hetmyer survives a big LBW appeal and KKR don't have any joy from the review. Timeout taken and RR need a very gettable 52 off 30 balls. 

ANOTHER PARAG SIX! This time a reverse sweep off Varun. With that he has hit his LAST SIX BALLS FOR SIXES. In fact, he is on a sequence of 4, 4, 1, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6 off his last 9 deliveries. WOW. This is incredible ball-striking. He looked pretty angry a few minutes back when Hasaranga and Jurel were out in the same over. 

FIVE SIXES ON THE TROT AGAINST MOEEN ALI! And with the fourth six he actually hit that SUV stand. 

WOW. THIS IS MADNESS AT THE EDEN GARDENS! Over square leg, then long on, then back over square leg, then back over long on and then down the ground off the last ball. PARAG HAS THRASHED MOEEN ALI AND RR ARE BACK IN THIS. 

One of Riyan Parag's better innings this season and that is saying a lot about the kind of season he has had. Already his highest score of the campaign. Back-to-back fours off Vaibhav down the ground. 

UFFF! Hetmyer smokes on don the ground at the start of the Narine over and the bowler almost instinctively pulls away from that. DIdn't want to put his fingers – his moneymakers – on the way. Rightly so. A four followed by four singles as the match meanders. 

He has the ball on a string here. Parag and Hetmyer can't anyway too many risks at the moment. Once again, last ball of the over, a peach. The man who mostly brings the ball back into right-handers, gets one to turn away. Beaten. 

Narine nearly has Parag in all sorts of tangle. Really tidy over, and then off the last ball, Narine gets one to drift away and then spin back in. How do you play that? Parag and Hetmyer have a massive rebuild ahead of them. 

Time for a timeout. 

WOW! TWO IN ONE OVER! Varun on fire. The usually not so expressive Varun letting it go after those dismissals. Two similar dismissals too, first one spins through Dhruv Jurel's defence and then one through Hasaranga's. Riyan Parag is not a happy man at the non-striker's end. 

Moeen Ali strikes again! Just when it looked like they were making a fist of this run-chase, they lose a big wicket again. Story of their season, really. Jaiswal tries to take on Moeen Ali down the ground, but can't get any elevation on this and finds Rinku at long who makes no mistake with a low catch, he is as safe as they come.

Yashasvi Jaiswal c Singh b Moeen Ali 34 (21 balls)

Well, now feels like we have a game on here. It's been a forgettable couple of overs for Harshit Rana, not having the IMPACT that KKR hoped he would have had. HAT TRICK OF FOURS FOR JAISWAL. First a fine cut past point, then one over the offside with a straigher bat and then a cheeky upper cut. Nothing going right for Rana here. 

RR finish the powerplay strongly to post 59/2 after losing two early wickets. 

A cut past point and a reverse sweep in the same direction roughly as Jaiswal welcomes Varun to the attack ith a couple of fours. Varun responds with a 110+ kph seam up delivery that actually swerves in the air like a proper seamer's delivery. Was that a chance behind the stumps? Not clear from replays but Varun seems to think there was an outside edge there. 

An expensive first over from the Impact sub Harshit Rana. Not good bowling this, especially the third boundary in the over which was a gift down the leg side that Parag just had to get a touch on for four. A four and somewhat streaky six earlier in the over. Big over back-to-back for RR. 

A classy flick from Riyan Parag for six and powerful lofted off drive from Yashasvi Jaiswal for four and finally some momentum for RR in this run-chase. Jaiswal holds the key without a doubt if RR are to get something out of this. 

Moeen Ali from the opposite end

Jaiswal goes bang from ball one. Not the right connection on it as the ball falls well wide of a running deep square leg. Loud appeal as Moeen loops one through and beats Kunal's attempted sweep in the air. KKR deliberate and take the review. Fleeting is his survival as Rathore repeats the sweep, only to send a sloppy top-edge to Russell at mid-on. A five-ball duck for KSR on his IPL debut. Riyan Parag is in at 4 in the 2nd over.

RR 9/2 in 2 overs

KS Rathore c Russell b Moeen Ali 0(5)

Huge blow early on for RR! Shortly after easing into a silken cover drive for FOUR, Suryavanshi goes for the rash hoick off Vaibhav Arora, and Rahane pulls off a stunning catch running backwards from mid-wicket. Debutant Kunal Singh Rathore walks in at 3. 

RR 5/1 in 1 over

Vaibhav Suryavanshi c Rahane b Vaibhav Arora 4(2, 1x4) 

Bowling coach Dwayne Bravo leads the pep talk in the KKR huddle as the Royals openers walk out. But let's keep an eye on the evening skies as well, gathering some thick clouds from the far end.

In come Yashasvi Jaiswal and Vaibhav Suryavanshi. Harshit Rana comes in as the Impact Sub

I never worry about a few dot balls here and there. When Madhwal came back to bowl, he hit my lengths, I am happy. Age is just a number, I still feel 27, says Andre Russell. 

85/1 in the last 5 overs! THAT IS SOME FINISH. 

The Eden Gardens faithful witnessed some fireworks on a Sunday afternoon. DreRuss finishes on 57 off 25 balls, Rinku with a really handy 19 off 6 balls. 

There might have been a few eyebrows raised at the Eden Gardens as DreRuss scampered back for a two to put Rinku back on strike in the final over. When the Big Man was striking so well... could he have retained the strike? Well, he knows Rinku better than us doesn't he. A pull short past midwicket for four, then a slog sweep for six, followed by another picksup short over square leg for a six. 

Bit of a poor cricket off the last ball as they don't attempt a run with Rinku beaten by a bouncer. Not sure why teams don't realise that they should run off the last ball till run out. But what a finish by KKR. Thanks to DreRuss and Rinku's fireworks. 

This season has missed this sort of a knock from the big man! An effortless flick over square leg for six brings him a 21-ball half century and he soaks in the applause from the Eden Gardens faithful. Archer is not a happy man with the fielding effort next ball as he gets pulled away for a six. Last ball of the 19th, a great effort from Parag at long off but can't hold on and it goes for four. 

KKR are actually in with a chance of getting to 200 here?! 

End of a really solid knock from the Mumbai youngster as he falls for a 31-ball 44. Kinda lost strike in the last few overs with DreRuss going crazy but a decent enough outing for him. Tried to go over the leg side with the pick-up shot but finds the fielder, would have been a half century had he connected a bit better. 

Angkrish Raghuvanshi c sub (Ashok Sharma) b Jofra Archer 44 (31 balls)

A 94m monster hit down the ground after that and that is DreRuss at his absolute best! THAT IS BRUTE FORCE. It feels like a different match now where DreRuss was playing forward defensive strokes. A quick win of the eye from the big man to his partner. Earlier in the over, another six over deep midwicket. And off the last ball, HAT TRICK OF SIXES! Almost felt like a slice but it carries way into the stands over long off. 

DreRuss is doing DreRuss things now. Clearly was waiting for the pacers to come on. A quite good low full toss from Archer and DreRuss gets enough bat on it to clear long on. Next ball, smashed down the ground for four. 

And now PArag decides to go to the one over of spin he has left, Theekshana to bowl what could be a crucial over. 

There is the charge! After seeing off the spinners, without taking a hint of risk, DreRuss starts swinging against Akash Madhwal. The pacer is perhaps the right kind of bowler DreRuss usually targets. A streaky inside edge for a four to start but after that it is all muscle. The shot over midwicket was typical DreRuss. Then a four through cover point. 

Either DreRuss is winding up some energy to really unload big time at the end or this is a potentially momentum shifting innings in favour of KKR. He has done this in the past too, taking time to get in and all that. But this is actually quite bizarre as he is just dead-batting against RR's spinners. A couple of defensive shots is one thing but this is borderline Test match batting.

Angkrish meanwhile brakes the shackles a bit for a four in that Hasaranga over. 

Theekshana with  four dot balls and two singles in the 14th over with DreRuss in the middle. Got one to turn and beat Russell's outside edge too for good measure. This is some solid bowling by RR but more indications that the pitch is going to aid the KKR spin group quite well. 

Time for another timeout. 

Rahane has once again struggled after a good start to find a move on in the middle overs. Parag continues to roll his arm over... and he goes almost side on slinga here in this over. A mix of Kedar Jadhav and Lasith Malinga almost. A wild slog sweep but the ball gets a feather touch. Jurel takes the catch and Rahane walks off immediately. 

Ajinkya Rahane c Dhruv Jurel b Riyan Parag 30 (24 balls)

21 runs in the last overs as KKR are not letting the scoring rate drop. A lot of running between the wickets. Rahane is actually starting to cramp as well. A four for Angkrish in each of those two overs means the scoring rate hasn't dropped too much. Maybe KKR will have to start going big from here. 

KKR have reached 86/2 at the 10-over mark. A boundary in that Hasaranga over for Angkrish as he gets a bit of help from the fielder, Yudhvir. Good sweep shot but should have been stopped at long leg. 

As we were discussing before the match, it's been a strange season for Angkrish but the youngster gets a great chance today to bat in a situation where he can get his eye in and make an impact. Just six singles in that Riyan Parag over and we will have our first timeout. 

Sri Lankan spinners in tandem now and it is Theekshana who breaks the partnership that was brewing quite nicely for KKR. Slightly pulls his length back as Gurbaz was shaping for the slog sweep and the length means he cannot get the right elevation with this shot. Hetmyer takes a simple catch at deep midwicket. 

Rahmanullah Gurbaz c Shimron Hetmyer b Maheesh Theekshana 35 (25 balls)

The intensity of that appeal from Hasaranga against Rahane for a LBW is not met with a willingness to go for a review. That Hasaranga over started with a fine sweep from Gurbaz for four and then the Afghan batter gets another sweep away. 

Oh wow, the replay shows indeed there was an inside edge. That looked absolutely plumb.

Ohhh another contender for the shot of the day from the KKR captain. In the slot length for sure but he got into position so early and just effortlessly lofts it down the ground with a high elbow. That's a purist's delight for the maximum T20 impact. He finishes the over with a flick for four. Was shaping into a good over from Madhwal to close out the powerplay, until those lost two deliveries. 

KKR reach 56/1 at the end of the powerplay, good recovery after the slow start. 

Oh dear. Kunal Rathore, playing his first game for the season, has gotten one nasty on his hands. The ball falls short of him at mid on and this looks like it is a painful split webbing. Would be a shame if it end his debut early. 

That felt like a top edge initially as Gurbaz takes on Theekshana with the sweep shpt. But actually the connection (and intent) is good enough to take the ball all the way over the ropes. High percentage shot too because the field was in behind square on the leg side. 

Can KKR finish the powerplay strongly? Been a powerplay of 2 halves. 

That's the over KKR fans were waiting for. It's been a sedate start but now the defending champions get a move on. A streaky four for Gurbaz as he top edges a short ball from Yudhvir, then gets it right for the next boundary. Shot of the match so far as Rahane finishes that Yudhvir over with a six over deep midwicket. 

Jofra Archer with another top powerplay over. Another brilliant bouncer in that over that clearly beat Rahane for pace even as he tried to upper cut it. Just zoomed through. Was supposed to be a dry pitch but there seems to be some moisture underneath early on. just 4 runs in that over. 

Three dot balls from Yudhvir to start the over, testing Narine with the short of length stuff. Then strides on to Narine's pads, the pickup shot just clears short fine where Jofra put in a big leap but couldn't get his hands on it. Narine gets going properly with a flick over fine leg for a six. That was a proper gift. What's the point of that delivery to someone like Narine with the field up in the circle on the leg side? But Yudhvir corrects it quickly and the more conventional delivery targetting the stumps works for Yudhvir. Might have been change of pace too. It seems to be a cutter, yes. And it clips the top of the leg stump. Bail trimmer. 

Sunil Narine b Yudhvir Singh 11 (9 balls)

AS we have seen quite often this season, that's a proper ripper of a first over from Jofra. Nice heat after starting off with somewhat of a floating inswinging half volley that Gurbaz should have put away. Just 2 runs off the over. 

Here we go then, Jofra Archer to start things off. Gurbaz on strike, Narine at the other end. 

KKR today vs RR

KKR next match vs CSK

KKR face SRH after that. 

Three teams who are at the bottom of the table. They can really go on a run here. 

With 18 matches left and two weeks left in the league stage, the IPL 2025 Playoffs cut-off is likely to be set at 18 points with two teams even hosting a chance of going up to 22 points. Therefore, RCB will need at least one more win in their remaining three matches to ensure a Playoffs spot. MI and GT will require two wins each in their remaining games. Locked at No. 4 and 5 with a one-point difference PBKS and DC need to win at least three of their four remaining games to reach the potential threshold mark. Meanwhile, LSG will need to win all of their remaining fixtures to reach the 18-point mark. KKR, on the other hand, will hope other results also go in their favour as they aim to reach 17 points with wins in all outings to try and reduce the cut-off by at least one point.

Can KKR post an above par total? Their batting has been bit of a mystery so far. Before the season, there were concerns around Rahane being appointed captain when it wasn't clear if he features in their best XI but he has arguably been their best batter so far. And then there is Angkrish, who keeps impressing most times he bats but feels like KKR don't quite know how to use him. Opening partnerships have been hit and miss too. They haven't been able to put together wins because of all these. Venky Iyer has most definitely not justified the price tag.

Now it's nearing a point of no-return for the defending champions. 

Rajasthan Royals (Playing XI): Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Riyan Parag(c), Kunal Singh Rathore, Dhruv Jurel(w), Shimron Hetmyer, Wanindu Hasaranga, Jofra Archer, Maheesh Theekshana, Yudhvir Singh Charak, Akash Madhwal (Likely impact sub: Shubham Dubey)

Kolkata Knight Riders (Playing XI): Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Sunil Narine, Ajinkya Rahane(c), Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Moeen Ali, Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Vaibhav Arora (Likely impact sub: Harshit Rana)

Changes from both teams. The dry nature of the surface means KKR have gone back to Moeen Ali, while Ramanadeep Singh also comes back in. RR make three changes, with the key one being Nitish Rana being unavailable. 

Confirmed XIs coming up.