KKR vs RR Match 53 IPL 2025 Live Coverage: Kolkata Knight Riders vs Rajasthan Royals Timeline, Analysis, Cricket Tips and Ball by Ball Prediction

7:17 PM: KKR wins by a run!

Kolkata Knight Riders, thanks to a great comeback by Harshit Rana in his last two overs, have kept their hopes alive. The defending champions in a do-or-die game held their nerves and won on the final ball of the game. 

6:53 PM: Rana breaks the partnership

Rajasthan Royals are at 164/6 after 16 overs. Need 43 runs in 24 balls. Parag: 92* (41), Dubey: 1* (1)

Harshit Rana, coming on to bowl his third over, was greeted by a four from Riyan Parag. It was a crucial over given that the game rests in balance. Rana broke the partnership that seemed to be taking the game away from the hosts by dismissing Hetmyer on the fifth ball of the 16th over. Shubham Dubey walked out to the pitch to join his captain as an impact sub. 

6:36 PM: Parag has brought his team back into this clash

Rajasthan Royals are at 144/5 after 14 overs. Need 63 runs in 36 balls. Parag: 82* (35), Hetmyer: 21* (18)

Varun Chakravarthy came back to bowl the final over of his spell with Kolkata Knight Riders desperately needing a wicket. Riyan Parag struck a six on the first ball he faced in the over, which meant that he struck six sixes in a row. 

6:33 PM: Parag hits five sixes in an over 

Rajasthan Royals are at 134/5 after 13 overs. Need 73 runs in 42 balls. Parag: 75* (31), Hetmyer: 18* (16)

Riyan Parag has scored his first half-century of the season. The right-handed batter reached the milestone off 27 balls with a six against Moeen Ali. The 13th over proved to be really expensive with the RR skipper hitting five sixes on the trot. 

Riyan Parag has brought life back into this game, and the required rate is now almost equal to the current run rate.

6:27 PM: The asking rate keeps on climbing for the Royals

Rajasthan Royals are at 102/5 after 12 overs. Need 105 runs in 48 balls. Parag: 45* (26), Hetmyer: 17* (15)

The asking rate, which was at 12 at the end of the ninth over, has now climbed to 13.12 runs per over. Vaibhav Arora came back into the attack to bowl the 12th over as the spinners were given a rest. However, the move to get back the pacer did not work in favour of Ajinkya Rahane as his right-arm speedster was hit for a couple of fours by Riyan Parag. 

6:19 PM: KKR on top at the halfway stage 

Rajasthan Royals are at 82/5 after 10 overs. Need 125 runs in 60 balls. Parag: 34* (20), Hetmyer: 8* (9)

Riyan Parag and Shimron Hetmyer possibly need to play their greatest knocks to get their team over the line. The visitors have been pushed to the back foot at the halfway stage of the second innings.

6:09 PM: Varun gets two in an over!

Rajasthan Royals are at 72/5 after 8 overs. Need 135 runs in 72 balls. Parag: 31* (16), Hetmyer: 1* (1)

Varun Chakravarthy opened his account and picked up his first wicket on the third ball of the eighth over. The mystery spinner would have felt unfortunate not to get Parag’s wicket on the first ball of the over, with an inside edge missing the stumps and going to the boundary. However, he stuck to his line and lengths and dismissed Dhruv Jurel. Wanindu Hasaranga was promoted in the batting order, possibly to shield Shimron Hetmyer from KKR spinners. However, the Sri Lankan could not do a great job and was dismissed for a silver duck.

6:02 PM: Moeen picks up his second wicket right after the power play

Rajasthan Royals are at 66/3 after 7 overs. Need 141 runs in 78 balls. Parag: 26* (14)

Moeen Ali nuggets the better of Yashasvi Jaiswal. The right-arm off-spinner picks up his second wicket in the seventh over. The former English spinner has picked up five wickets in the season, and all of those have been left-handed batters.

5:57 PM: A great end to the power play for the Royals

Rajasthan Royals are at 59/2 after 6 overs. Need 148 runs in 14 overs. Jaiswal: 32* (18), Parag: 22* (11)

The visitors, after losing a couple of wickets in the first two overs, have ended the power play on a positive note. Yashasvi Jaiswal capitalised on some poor bowling from Harshit Rana as he struck three fours on the trot in the final over of the restrictions. 

Both Jaiswal and Riyan Parag have found their touch. The two batters would need to carry on with their knocks to make a game out of this chase. 

5:53 PM: Jaiswal welcomes Varun with two fours

Rajasthan Royals are at 46/2 after 5 overs. Need 161 runs in 15 overs. Jaiswal: 19* (12), Parag: 22* (11)

Varun Chakravarthy, bowling his first over, was welcomed with a couple of fours by Yashasvi Jaiswal. However, the rest of the four balls did not cost much as the fifth over went for nine runs.

5:49 PM: KKR give away a few runs in the last two overs

Rajasthan Royals are at 37/2 after 4 overs. Need 170 runs in 16 overs. Jaiswal: 10* (6), Parag: 22* (11)

Even with the loss of two wickets, the Rajasthan Royals are in great shape. The boundaries at Eden Gardens are pretty small, and some wayward bowling in the last two overs has helped Riyan Parat and Yashasvi Jaiswal. After a great start, Vaibhav Arora was struck for a six each by Parag and Jaiswal in the third over. Harshit Rana, coming off as an impact sub too, proved to be expensive as he gave away 15 runs in the fourth over.

5:38 PM: Moeen Ali gets his first wicket

Rajasthan Royals are at 9/2 after 2 overs. Need 198 runs in 18 overs. Jaiswal: 4* (4), Parag: 1* (1)

Like Andre Russell rolled back the years in the first innings, it has been Moeen Ali in the first two overs of the second innings. He made a great stop on the first ball of the innings while fielding at point. He came on to bowl the second over and almost picked up his first wicket on the fourth ball. A not-out call from the on-field umpire saved debutant Vikram Singh Rathore. Meanwhile, on the very next delivery, trying to muscle a six down the ground could not manage to get the distance and was dismissed for a five-ball duck. 

5:31 PM: Vaibhav Arora provides an early breakthrough for the hosts

Rajasthan Royals are at 5/1 after 1 over. Need 202 runs in 19 overs. Jaiswal: 1* (2), Kunal Rathore: 0* (2)

Vaibhav Suryavanshi, for the first time this season, showcased a touch of class in his batting. However, the 14-year-old, thanks to a spectacular catch from Ajinkya Rahane, was dismissed on the very next delivery. Running back from mid-wicket, Rahane, with stitches in his right hand, put in a dive to complete the catch. Suryavanshi’s namesake, Vaibhav Arora, got the better of him in the first over.

5:10 PM: RR needs 207 runs to win!

Rajasthan Royals bowled well in parts, especially in the middle-overs phase. However, unfortunately for the visitors, they were met with the wrath of Andre Russell. The Jamaican all-rounder had not fired in the season so far. At the start of the innings, Russell found it pretty difficult to handle the RR spinners. He had scored only a single run in the first six balls, but, as the pacers came on to bowl, the right-handed batter found his mojo. He scored his first fifty of the season in traditional Russell style, hitting six sixes. Angkrish Raghuvanshi too showed a great deal of maturity as he strung together useful stands with Rahane and Russell. Rinku Singh, coming in the penultimate over, too, provided the finishing touch to the innings. 

For the Royals, after being in a controlling position up until the 15th over, it all went downhill in the last five overs. KKR had scored 121 runs in 15 overs, but having scored 85 runs in the last 30 balls, they ended up with a score of 206. 

Once again, all the eyes would be on the young batting pair of Viabhav Suryavanshi and Yashasvi Jaiswal as the visitors make their way out to the middle in a few minutes. 

4:48 PM: Russell finds his muscle against the pacers

Kolkata Knight Riders are at 136/3 after 16 overs. Raghuvanshi: 37* (25), Russell: 16* (13)

Andre Russell needs to find his vintage form if KKR goes on to make a respectable total here. The Jamaican all-rounder got going with a couple of fours and a six off consecutive balls in the 16th over. Maheesh Theekshana has an over left and could very well come in to bowl next.

4:38 PM: Russell faces difficulty against the spinners

Kolkata Knight Riders are at 113/3 after 14 overs. Raghuvanshi: 29* (20), Russell: 1* (6)

Andre Russell has been targeted with the same field setup against spinners in different games now this season. Against the Jamaican all-rounder, all the fielders behind the batter are in the 30-yard circle, while the five fielders in his range are placed at the boundary. Theekshana, bowling the 14th over, bowled three dots against the batter and gave away only a couple of runs in the over. 

4:31 PM: Rahane gets dismissed against spin again

Kolkata Knight Riders are at 111/3 after 13 overs. Raghuvanshi: 28* (18), Russell: 0* (2)

Riyan Parag, after picking Rohit’s wicket in the previous game, has once again picked up a crucial scalp. The RR skipper got the better of his opposite number, Ajinkya Rahane. Once again, the KKR captain was dismissed by a spinner in IPL 2025.

4:26 PM: Raghuvanshi holds the key for KKR against spinners

Kolkata Knight Riders are at 107/2 after 12 overs. Rahane: 29* (22), Raghuvanshi: 26* (16)

Since the end of the power play, the rate of scoring has gone down drastically. The spinners from the Rajasthan Royals have bowled with great accuracy, constantly hitting the stumps. While Rahane has been kept quiet by the tweakers, young Raghuvanshi has struck a four in the last three overs. 

4:18 PM: The game is poised at the halfway stage of the 1st innings

Kolkata Knight Riders are at 85/2 after 10 overs. Rahane: 24* (18), Raghuvanshi: 11* (7)

Ajinkya Rahane, who has struggled against spin bowlers, has once again failed to score at a similar pace against them like he did against the pacer bowlers. However, luckily for him, Angkrish Raghuvanshi is a decent player against spinners and can take pressure off of him. 

4:09 PM: Theekshana picks up his first wicket

Kolkata Knight Riders are at 72/2 after 8 overs. Rahane: 20* (13), Raghuvanshi: 3* (1)

Maheesh Theekshana, with a change of ends, has accounted for Rahmanullah Gurbaz’s wicket. It is the fifth time that the Sri Lankan spinner has dismissed Gurbaz. The two Sri Lankan spinners would need to play a huge role in this innings to restrict the long batting lineup of the Kolkata Knight Riders. 

4:00 PM: KKR end the power play on a high note

Kolkata Knight Riders are at 56/1 after 6 overs. Gurbaz: 24* (19), Rahane: 18* (8)

Ajinkya Rahane struck an uncomplicated six with a traditional down-the-ground hit against Akash Madhwal, who came on to bowl the last over of the power play. On the very next delivery, he flicked the right-arm pacer for a four. 

3:54 PM: Gurbaz welcomes Theekshana with a couple of boundaries

Kolkata Knight Riders are at 43/1 after 5 overs. Gurbaz: 22* (16), Rahane: 7* (5)

The hosts have stepped on the accelerator pedal in the last few overs. After scoring only 17 runs in the first three overs, both Gurbaz and Rahane have taken on the mantle of making full use of the power play restrictions. After a 15-run over from Yudhvir, Maheesh Theekshana, bowling his first over, got hit for 11 runs.

3:50 PM: A huge over for KKR

Kolkata Knight Riders are at 32/1 after 4 overs. Gurbaz: 12* (12), Rahane: 6* (3)

Rajasthan Royals had kept the lid on the scoring rate. However, Yudhvir’s second over resulted in 15 runs with Rahmanullah Gurbaz hitting a couple of fours before Ajinkya Rahane opened his account with a six. 

3:40 PM: Yudhvir Singh bowls an eventful over

Kolkata Knight Riders are at 13/1 after 2 overs. Gurbaz: 1* (3)

Yudhvir Singh came on to bowl the second over. He started the over on a great note, before being flicked for a four and a six on consecutive deliveries by Sunil Narine. However, on the final ball of the over, the right-arm pacer deceived Narine with a slower delivery and rattled his stumps.

3:34 PM: Jofra Archer bowls a fiery first over

Kolkata Knight Riders are at 2/0 after 1 over. Gurbaz: 1* (3), Narine: 1* (3)

Jofra Archer, bowling the first over, got the ball moving in the air as he swung into the right-hander and away from Sunil Narine. The two KKR openers did well in negotiating the over without losing a wicket.

3:01: KKR vs RR Toss Update

KKR won the toss and elected to bat first at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

Kolkata Knight Riders Playing XI

Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Sunil Narine, Ajinkya Rahane (C), Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Moeen Ali, Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Vaibhav Arora

Rajasthan Royals Playing XI

Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Riyan Parag (C), Kunal Singh Rathore, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Wanindu Hasaranga, Jofra Archer, Maheesh Theekshana, Yudhvir Singh Charak, Akash Madhwal