IPL 2025: Riyan Parag’s knock goes in vain as KKR beat RR by one run to keep playoffs hopes alive

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) beat Rajasthan Royals (RR) by just one run in a key IPL 2025 game to keep their playoff hopes alive. With this win, KKR now have moved to 11 points from 11 games and gone above Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). Riyan Parag led from the front with the bat, scoring 95 runs from just 45 balls with the help of six boundaries and eight sixes. 

Harshit Rana’s slower ball saw Parag try to hit the ball straight down the ground. Vaibhav Arora, who was standing near the boundary, settled under the ball and took a neat catch. It was an end of a great innings that saw Rajasthan come back into the game. Parag and Hetmyer added 92 runs for the sixth wicket in just eight overs. 

Another day, another #TATAIPL classic 🤩@KKRiders prevail by 1️⃣ run in a last-ball thriller in Kolkata to boost their playoff hopes 👏💜

Scorecard ▶ https://t.co/wg00ni9CQE#KKRvRR pic.twitter.com/mJxuxBSPqw

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 4, 2025

At one stage the visitors were down in the dumps, with the score reading 71 for the loss of five wickets. Varun Chakravarthy had got the wickets of Dhruv Jurel and Wanindu Hasaranga in a space of three balls. After those two wickets, both Hetmyer and Parag went after the KKR bowlers. 

Harshit Rana broke the 92-run stand when his short ball to Hetmyer saw the batter try to fend the ball. Rahmanullah Gurbaz took a neat catch to have the KKR fans finally find their voice. Hetmyer decided to review the call but the TV umpire saw the ball had got some part of the bat before the catch was completed. 

Kolkata survive late scare to beat RR in a nail biting contest

Vaibhav Arora came to bowl the final over of the game with RR needing 22 runs to win the game. Rinku Singh produced an amazing stop near the boundary as Jofra Archer could only take two runs. The next ball produced a single and that got Shubham Dubey to take strike. 

The left-handed batter hit a six to make it 13 runs needed from four balls. This was followed by a four as the equation suddenly came down to nine runs needed from two balls. Dubey hit Arora’s low full toss straight down the ground to make it three runs needed from one ball. 

Arora bowled a perfect delivery as Dubey jammed the bat down to complete a single. KKR fielders kept their cool as the ball was hurled to the bowlers end and Jofra Archer was found short of his crease. KKR held their nerves to win the game by one run as Rajasthan for the fourth time this season, messed up their run chase.