Royals win by 2 wickets!

The Royals have won this and it's all thanks to one man. Jos Buttler has snatched this victory from the jaws of defeat, and from the jaws of the home team that thought they had it in their bag. But it wasn't to be, not until this man was on strike. He's done it for the second time this season, sealing a win off the final ball of the innings, with 1 run needed off the final ball. It equalled the highest successful run chase in the history of the IPL and the Royals have earned their laurels, deservingly so! This is also RR's second-highest total in the IPL. He scores his seventh hundred in the IPL, one of his most memorable ones, to remain unbeaten on 107 off 60 balls.

100 for Jos Buttler

19.1 overs: And what a time for it to come! He has turned the tide here at Eden Gardens and the Royals camp is all smiles now. Came in as the Impact Substitute in the 2nd innings and has dug it out till the end. Once again, a hundred in the first innings is topped by a Jos Special. The last time he did it, it was against RCB and Virat Kohli, this time it's Sunil Narine and KKR. RR 221/8.

Buttler takes Royals close

19 overs: Buttler pummels Harshit Rana for 19 runs in the penultimate over to keep the Royals sailing in this tense chase. Moves to 98 in quick time. RR need 9 off 6 balls. How is the Jos? RR 215/8.

18 runs off Starc over

18 overs: Jos Buttler hits a six and a four to gather 18 runs off Mitchell Starc's 18th over to keep RR in the hunt. It's a one-man show as he moves to 79 off 48 balls. RR 196/8.

Powell departs after quick cameo

16.5 overs: He brought the team so close with his power-hitting but has been trapped by Narine on the penultimate ball of his spell. A four and two sixes and the Royals are still hopeful they can cross the finish line. He departs for 26 off 13 balls. 46 needed in 19! RR 178/7.

Another big over

16 overs: Buttler and Powell produce another big over for the Royals as they amass 17 runs including two sixes off Andre Russell. This match is very much on. Royals need 62 off 24 balls. RR 162/6

50 for Buttler

15 overs: Buttler reaches his fifty off 36 balls. He is still fighting it out with Rovman Powell in the middle. Hits 17 runs off Varun Chakravarthy's 15th over including four boundaries to keep RR's hopes intact. RR 145/6.

Strategic Timeout: 99 needed off 42

13 overs: Two back-to-back dismissals and the Royals are down to their last recognised batting pair with Rovman Powell and Jos Buttler at the crease. They are scoring at 9.61 an over, and they need 14.14 to get over the line. 7 overs left, 4 wickets in hand. Looks far-fetched. But then there’s Buttler… RR 125/6

Buttler survives

10.4 overs: Jos Buttler survives an lbw appeal from Varun Chakravarthy. The on-field umpire rules in the negative. Shreyas Iyer reviews the decision but in vain. Buttler misses the ball but the impact is outside the off-stump. Buttler continues on 32 and Ashwin at 2. RR 110/4.

Halfway Stage: RR move to 109/4

The Royals move to 109/4 after 10 overs. Buttler continues at 32 off 22 balls along with Ashwin on 1. Royals need 115 runs more from the last 10 overs. Royals can get this chase right if they continue in the same vein as the difference between the required run rate and current run rate is minimal.

Ashwin in at No.5

8.4 overs: Reviews a wide not given straightaway and is successful! One extra run and a ball for the Royals. It's the little things, really. Once again, the Royals management placing their faith in Ravichandran Ashwin by sending him up the batting order. The plan is clear - whack a few sixes and make the run chase easier for the others. RR 101/4.

End of Powerplay: Royals at 76/2

Some clean striking in the 6th over from Riyan and Jos help close out the Powerplay strongly with 23 runs coming off it. A decent recovery after losing two quick wickets. Buttler moves to 20 off 12 and Parag speeds to 20 off just 8 balls as Royals are placed at 76/2 after the first six.

Jaiswal hits 50th six in IPL

1.3 overs: Royals start on a positive note as Jaiswal hits his 50th IPL six. He hits 2 fours and a six as the Royals race to 18/0.

Impact Sub Alert: Jos Buttler is in

Jos Buttler comes in as the impact substitute for the Royals in place of Kuldeep Sen. Missed out in the last match but he's got a 100 on his back and that too came in a winning cause. The Royals will need this opening pair to fire, especially with Yashasvi Jaiswal also due a big knock in the season so far. The Royals look to get their second-highest total in the IPL in pursuit of 224.

The Royals need 224 for a win

KKR end at 223/6, notching their highest score against the Royals in the IPL on the back of Sunil Narine's explosive century. Narine scores 109 as Angkrish Raghuvanshi and Rinku Singh come up with cameos. Avesh Khan and Kuldeep pick two each and Boult has one.

Kuldeep sends back Venkatesh Iyer

19.2 overs: Kuldeep Strikes as he dismisses Venkatesh Iyer for 8 off 6 balls. Dhruv Jurel picks up a brilliant catch running in from deep cover. KKR 215/6.

Superman Riyan Parag

19.1 overs: Riyan Parag saves five runs as he throws the ball right in time before crossing the boundary rope. It was a powerful hit from Rinku Singh.

Boult cleans up Narine

17.3 overs: He departs on 109. But not before being congratulated by Boulty himself. It's been that kind of an innings where you earn the respect of the opposition. Any other opponent and we'd have celebrated this knock but for now, the Royals breathe a sigh of relief, for there will be no further damage. Narine gets a standing ovation!

Brilliant delivery from Boult though. Yorker and tailed in at pace, the ball goes right through the leg stump. KKR 195/5.

Russell falls for 13

16.1 overs: Not his night, and thank heavens for that. Avesh Khan back into the attack for the 17th and strikes straightaway on ball 1. The Royals still have enough firepower at the death to put a stop to this run-fest. Anything under 200 would be a decent end to the innings as they have the batting depth to chase it down.

Interestingly, the average first innings winning total at this ground since IPL 2023 is 210. KKR 184/4.

First IPL 100 for Sunil Narine!

He gets there in 49 balls and Dre Russ at the other end is chuffed as well. Eden Gardens erupts in celebration, Shah Rukh Khan joins in and there's not much one can do when a batter gets going like that. Credit where due, this has been some batting from the KKR opener. His first IPL century and it's been a classic T20 innings.

Five overs to go: KKR 161/3

Dre Russ joins Sunil Narine at the crease as KKR move to 161/3 at the end of 15 overs. Ashwin completes his spell. Avesh Khan has two overs left. Chahal, Boult and Kuldeep have an over each.

Narine on 79 off 44 balls and Russell has 12 from 8 balls. Avesh 1/12.

Chahal gets Shreyas Iyer

12.6 overs: The KKR captain goes for the DRS immediately but the umpire has signalled this out. The replays confirm there's no edge off the bat and Shreyas is walking already. Ball tracking shows the ball going straight through the stumps. It's OUT and KKR lose their review too. KKR 133/3

Sen with the much-needed breakthrough

10.4 overs: The partnership is broken! Kuldeep Sen removes Angriksh Raghuvanshi (30 off 18) with a short and wide delivery outside off, the slice doesn't get the distance as Ashwin at third man takes a safe catch. KKR 106/2

Slight hold up in play

10.1 overs: KKR have crossed the 100-run mark after 10 overs and play halts in the 11th as the Royals physio comes out to tend to Sanju. Sanga meanwhile speaks to the commentators, who gave a positive update on Sandeep Sharma's injury. KKR 101/1.

Yuzvendra Chahal on 198* IPL wickets

Spin introduced from both ends immediately after the Powerplay. Yuzi Chahal, the Purple Cap holder so far, has taken 11 wickets until now in the season. 2 more scalps and the highest wicket-taker in IPL history will cross the 200 mark.

End of Powerplay: KKR 56/1

KKR score 56/1 in six overs. Avesh gets 1/12 off his two overs. The Royals concede only one six in the powerplay against big-hitting Narine and Raghuvanshi who are at the crease for KKR.

Royals Strike! Stunner from Avesh Khan

3.3 overs: Phil Salt's on his way back thanks to a reflex catch from Avesh off his own bowling. It's his non-bowling hand and it's stuck perfectly. Sanju Samson takes off his gloves and hands it to Avesh. It was THAT good! The drop didn't cost much, fortunately for the Royals. They're off the mark... KKR: 21/1

Excellent start

Trent Boult bowls five dot balls and concedes just two runs in the first over. And a chance too. Boult almost gets Phil Salt who is dropped on 0 in just the second ball of the innings. Avesh backs it up conceding just six runs in the second over with four runs coming in as byes. Good start for the Royals.

KKR vs RR head-to-head

In the RR vs KKR head-to-head record, the Royals have won 13 while the Knight Riders won 14 times. For more details click here.

KKR vs RR playing XI

Rajasthan Royals Playing XI: Sanju Samson (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag, Shimron Hetmyer, Rovman Powell, Dhruv Jurel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Avesh Khan, Kuldeep Sen, Yuzvendra Chahal

RR Impact Substitutes: Jos Buttler, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Shubham Dubey, Navdeep Saini, Nandre Burger

There are two changes in the RR line-up from the last match. Keshav Maharaj and Tanush Kotian are out, R Ashwin and Yashasvi Jaiswal are in.

Kolkata Knight Riders Playing XI: Shreyas Iyer(c), Phil Salt, Venkatesh Iyer, Sunil Narine, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Mitchell Starc, Varun Chakravarthy, Harshit Rana

KKR vs RR Toss

Rajasthan Royals skipper Sanju Samson wins the toss and elects to field first.

“It might be better to bat here, but it's ok, we'll bowl first,” explains Samson. “To be back at the Eden Gardens is special. It has a special vibe. Jos (Buttler) and Ravichandran Ashwin are available for this match.”

KKR captain Shreyas Iyer admits that he would have elected to bowl first, had he won the toss, of course…

Welcome to the KKR vs RR live blog

Hello and good evening from a warm and humid Kolkata! It’s Rajasthan Royals vs Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League 2024 clash at the iconic Eden Gardens. The match is for top honours this season with Rajasthan Royals leading the standings just ahead of Kolkata Knight Riders. The winner of the KKR vs RR match will lead the IPL 2024 points table today.

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