Not Andre Russell's heroics! Ajinkya Rahane credits this thing for KKR's win vs RR in IPL thriller

In the 53rd match of the Indian Premier League 2025 (IPL 2025), the Ajinkya Rahane-led Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) hosted the Riyan Parag-led Rajasthan Royals (RR) on Sunday, May 4.

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) won the nail-biting IPL 2025 match against the Rajasthan Royals (RR) by one run at the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

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It was really close - Ajinkya Rahane

Opting to bowl first in the match, KKR posted a good score of 206/4 on the board, thanks to a brilliant batting show from Andre Russell, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, and Rinku Singh.

Defending the total, KKR got in total control by reducing RR to 71/5 before Riyan Parag and Shimron Hetmyer staged a comeback. The match went to the last over, where Vaibhav Arora nailed a yorker on the last ball to seal the win for his team.

During the post-match presentation ceremony, Rahane said that they were quite satisfied to win the close match. He said:

"It was really close but really happy, when you win by one or two runs it gives you a lot of satisafaction."

Ajinkya Rahane credits good fielding for KKR's win over RR

Ajinkya Rahane further hailed Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, and Andre Russell for their brilliant batting performances.

"Gurbaz and Angkrish played well and that finish from Russell was really good. The plan was to go hard in the powerplay and then stabilize things till the 12th over. It was not easy for a new batter so me and Angkrish were talking to take it deep," Ajinkya Rahane said.

Ajinkya Rahane, in the end, lauded the fielding efforts of his team and said that it made a big difference in the match. He stated:

"(On the importance of fielding well) It's really important, if you can save 10-12 runs on the field it's great. If you can take a couple of good catches and effect a run-out, it makes all the difference."

KKR also won the previous match against RR

On March 26, 2025, in Guwahati, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) defeated the Rajasthan Royals (RR) by 8 wickets to secure their first win of the IPL 2025 season. Chasing a target of 152, Quinton de Kock’s magnificent 97* off 61 balls helped KKR win with 15 balls to spare.

Opting to bowl first in the match, KKR bowlers delivered a dominant performance and managed to restrict RR to 151/9. Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakravarthy, Moeen Ali, and Harshit Rana picked up two wickets each in the innings, while Spencer Johnson got one wicket.

Chasing the target, KKR lost Moeen Ali in the sixth over for just 5 runs, but Quinton de Kock's sensational batting kept KKR in control. The Proteas batter dominated the powerplay, scoring 34 of KKR’s 40 runs, and didn’t slow down as the innings progressed.

He kept batting brilliantly and found good support from captain Ajinkya Rahane, who chipped in with 18, and young Angkrish Raghuvanshi, who scored an unbeaten 22. The run-chase was eventually completed in 17.3 overs with Quinton de Kock being deservedly named Player of the Match for his match-winning knock.