The Rajashthan Royals are taking on the Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. It is a must-win game for the bottom teams in order to qualify for the next round of the tournament. However, it is looking like RR will finally break their losing streak and register an important win.
After winning the toss, Sanju Samson decided to bowl first, and the inaugural season champions did a great job with their bowlers. KKR managed only 149/8 in the first inning. Veteran Indian leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal bowled a brilliant spell of 4/25.
With this, he also became the leading wicket-taker in the history of the Indian Premier League. Chahal went past Dwayne Bravo and became the highest wicket taker in the league. Bravo retired with 183 wickets in 161 games, while Chahal has now picked up 187 wickets in his 143rd game.
Chasing the target, Yashasvi Jaiswal gave RR a flying start and hit 26 runs in the very first over by Nitish Rana. He carried on his attacking approach and kept collecting boundaries. In the end, Jaiswal reached his half-century in no time.
He smashed a 13-ball fifty and registered the fastest half-century in the history of the IPL. The Southpaw broke the records of KL Rahul and Pat Cummins, who have hit a 14-ball half-century each. Rahul (PBKS) hit the 14-ball fifty against DC in 2018, while Cummins (KKR) did it against MI in 2022.
In doing so, Jos Buttler (0) got run out for a three-ball duck, but Jaiswal has been the standout performer for the inaugural season winner. He also became the second batter after Faf du Plessis to cross the 500-run mark in the IPL 2023. This win has helped RR get two important points on the table to move up for a place in the playoffs.
RR chased down the target in 13.1 overs with nine wickets in hand and made 151/1. Jaiswal was unlucky and remained unbeaten on 98 off 47, while Sanju Samson scored 48 not out off 29. However, the priceless moment came on the last ball of the 13th over when Suyash Sharma bowled a wide delivery and Samson, who was unbeaten at 48, blocked the delivery.
He did it to give a strike to Jaiswal, who needed six for his century. But on the first ball of the 14th over, he hit a boundary and ended on 98 not out. Fans loved this gesture from the RR skipper and lauded him on Twitter. Fans also remembered the same gesture by MS Dhoni in a game when he blocked a ball to give Virat Kohli the chance to hit the winning runs.