KKR vs RR: Ajinkya Rahane's men keep IPL 2025 playoff hopes alive despite Riyan Parag, Shubham Dubey's knocks

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) keep their Indian Premier League (IPL) playoff hopes alive by the skin of their teeth after they eked out a one-run win against the Rajasthan Royals on Sunday. The thriller at Eden Gardens ensures KKR keep up with the rest of the IPL 2025 competition as they now sit sixth in the standings with 11 points from as many games, leapfrogging Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) who play in the second game on the day. 

Parag blitzkreig, Dubey's impact

Rajasthan Royals almost pulled off a dramatic win thanks to a sensational knock from skipper Riyan Parag, who missed out on his century by just one hit. The stylish right-handee hit eight sixes in his innings of 95 (45b), including six consecutive sixes across two overs.

He first smashed Moeen Ali all over the park in the 13th over, hitting him for five consecutive maximums as Rajasthan Royals scored 32 of that over. He then reverse-swept Varun Chakravarthy in his first ball of the next over. The RR skipper had completely changed the dynamics of the game with those big hits as he brought the required run rate down from over 13 an over to just 10.5 with six overs to go.

However, the KKR bowlers pulled the momentum back with three quiet overs, and then forced a mistimed slog to long on by Parag, which Vaibhav Arora easily pouched. Harshit Rana made that important breakthrough, with a slower ball, as RR looked to be heading towards yet another loss.

Shubham Dubey's impact innings

However, Rajasthan Royals still had an ace up their sleeves as they brought on Shubham Dubey as their impact player and what an impact he had on the chase. Coming in to bat to replace his skipper in the 18th over, Dubey's 14-ball stay almost took the away side home.

The left handed batter combined well with Jofra Archer as they ensured the scoreboard kept ticking despite the drought of boundaries.

When the last over come, Rajasthan Royals needed 22 runs for a win and Dubey almost stayed true to his Impact Player moniker.

Rahane's tinkering

After he came on to the striker's end in the third ball of the over, with Rajasthan Rotals still needing 19 runs of four balls, Dubey hit 6, 4, 6 in the next three balls of Vaibhav Arora as the visitors were on the cusp of an incredible victory.

Dubey needed just 3 off the final ball as KKR skipper Ajinkya Rahane swapped the long on and long off fielders, as he placed the excellent Rinku Singh at the latter position. Arora nailed his yorker in the last ball of the innings as Dubey could only dig it out to Rinku Singh, who made no mistake with his pick up and throw.

The long off fielder's throw found Jofra Archer short of his ground at the bowler's end as Arora dislodged the bails to wild celebrations from the KKR players and the Eden Gardens faithful.

Rajasthan Royals fizzled out in the end as they lose their ninth match of the season in what has been a disappointing campaign. KKR, on the other hand, stay alive for yet another day as they slowly inch towards their IPL playoff spot.

Stay updated on all the action from the IPL 2025. Check the IPL 2025 Schedule, track the latest IPL 2025 Points Table, and follow the top performers with the Orange Cap and Purple Cap.