Russell, Rinku bring KKR alive at the death to post 206
Russell was promoted to No. 5 and he revived the innings after it had slowed down in the middle overs
ESPNcricinfo staff
04-May-2025 • 7 hrs ago
Kolkata Knight Riders 206 for 4 (Russell 57*, Raghuvanshi 44, Parag 1-21) vs Rajasthan Royals
A 25-ball unbeaten 57 from Andre Russell from No. 5 helped Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) score 95 off their last seven overs and set Rajasthan Royals (RR) 207 to win at Eden Gardens.
RR's spinners were effective but could not contain the KKR batters. Akash Madhwal was taken down, and Russell denied Maheesh Theekshana a good finish.
Russell was promoted with 7.2 overs to go and he started slow - 2 off nine balls - but he then went on a tear when the pace bowlers returned at the death. He hit two fours and two sixes off his next six balls.
Theekshana's spin returned in the 18th over with changing speeds and lengths, none of it made any difference as Russell smacked a hat-trick of sixes from cow corner to long-off.
Jofra Archer was hit for boundaries off full and short balls. He created a chance but Riyan Parag put it down at long-off. Madhwal started the final over of the innings with three wides before Rinku Singh took over with a four and two sixes to finish on a high.
The day started with Sunil Narine and Rahmanullah Gurbaz stepping leg side quite often. Narine got a full toss and picked up a six thanks to it but was then bowled as Yudhvir Singh hit good length and took pace off. Yudhvir was taken down for 15 in his next over despite finding a top edge off Gurbaz's slog.
Ajinkya Rahane played arguably the shot of the day when he drove Madhwal over his head for six, he then flicked behind square to pick up four more.
Gurbaz went across the stumps too and tried to manufacture shots. It led to a couple of miscues but earned him two fours and a six in the 56-run powerplay.
Theekshana dismissed Gurbaz slog sweeping in the eighth over. The spinners decided to take the pace off completely as KKR scored only 30 runs between overs six and ten.
Raghuvanshi was getting a boundary an over but Rahane slowed down against spin. He made 11 off his last 14 balls after being on 19 off 10. Parag bowled three on the trot and dismissed his opposite number with a side-arm under-cutter at 76ks at which point Russell was promoted.