Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) came out on top against Kolkata Knight Riders by a narrow margin of four runs in a high-scoring encounter at the Eden Gardens on Tuesday.
Chasing a mammoth total of 239, KKR got off to a flying start and were in control at 162/2 in the 13th over. However, they then suffered a collapse, losing five wickets for 23 runs.
Skipper Ajinkya Rahane top-scored with 61 off 35 balls but the middle order couldn't complete the job.
Rinku Singh, who came in at No. 8 -- lower down than usual -- made an unbeaten 38 in 15 balls as KKR fell just short.
Needing 24 off the last over bowled by Ravi Bishnoi, KKR could only get five runs off the first three balls faced by Harshit Rana. Rinku then got the strike and hit 4, 4 and 6 off the last three deliveries but it wasn't enough.
For LSG, Akash Deep and Shardul Thakur claimed two wickets each.
Earlier, LSG stormed to 238 for 3 in 20 overs against KKR in their IPL 2025 clash at Eden Gardens.
KKR bowlers struggled against LSG after captain Ajinkya Rahane won the toss and chose to bowl first.
Both Nicholas Pooran and Mitchell Marsh raced to half-centuries, with Pooran reaching his in just 22 balls. Pooran remained unbeaten on 87 in what was an explosive innings.
KKR pacer Harshit Rana struck twice - first removing Aiden Markram just three runs short of his fifty, then dismissing Abdul Samad for six.
KKR’s first breakthrough came in the 11th over through Rana.
Andre Russell provided KKR with their second breakthrough in the 16th over, dismissing Mitchell Marsh for a well-made 81 off 48 balls. Marsh lofted the ball over the off side, only to find Rinku Singh in the deep.
The wicket came as a much-needed relief for KKR after Marsh’s destructive innings. However, the KKR bowlers continued to struggle.
Earlier, openers Markram and Marsh laid a solid foundation for LSG after being made to bat first.
"Wicket looks really good. Temperature hasn’t been very hot, there won’t be much change in the pitch,” said KKR skipper Ajinkya Rahane following the toss.
“Not thinking about the previous games too much. Just looking at the positives. We are playing the same team,” said LSG captain Rishabh Pant.
KKR made one change, bringing back Spencer Johnson for Moeen Ali, while LSG retained the same XI that defeated Mumbai Indians.
At present, KKR sit fifth on the points table with two wins from four matches, while LSG are just behind in sixth place with the same number of points.
Both sides will be looking to clinch the crucial two points from this fixture.
Playing XI
Kolkata Knight Riders: Quinton de Kock(WK), Sunil Narine, Ajinkya Rahane(C), Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Vaibhav Arora, Spencer Johnson, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy
Lucknow Super Giants: Mitchell Marsh, Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran, Rishabh Pant(WK/C), Ayush Badoni, David Miller, Abdul Samad, Shardul Thakur, Akash Deep, Avesh Khan, Digvesh Singh Rathi
Impact players
KKR: Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Manish Pandey, Anukul Roy, Rovman Powell, Luvnith Sisodia
LSG: Ravi Bishnoi, Prince Yadav, Shahbaz Ahamad, Matthew Breetzke, Himmat Singh.