Some excellent death bowling by Kolkata Knight Riders saw them choke the Rajasthan Royals, beating them by 25 runs in the eliminator of the IPL 2018 at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
Chasing 170 to win, RR could only manage 144/4 in 20 overs. Sanju Samson was the top scorer for RR, with a well-made 50 off 38 balls, with four fours and two sixes. Skipper Ajinkya Rahane was the other major contributor, scoring 46 but off 41 balls.
RR seemed on course, first when Rahane and opener Rahul Ajay Tripathi (20) shared a 47-run opening partnership, and then when Samson and Rahane were batting. But the skipper's dismissal in the 15th over by Kuldeep Yadav, pegged back RR's run chase. Spinners Yadav (1/18) and Piyush Chawla (2/24) were the wreckers-in-chief. Young pacer Muralikrishna Prasidh Krishna, too, was brilliant, giving away just three and eight runs in the 18th and 20th over respectively, and dismissing Stuart Binny (0).
Earlier, KKR survived a top-order batting collapse to post 169/7. Skipper Dinesh Karthik (52) and all-rounder Andre Russell (49*) helped their team recover from 51/4 to set RR a target of 170.
Though he did not pick up any wicket, New Zealand spinner Ish Sodhi was the pick of the RR bowlers, giving away just 15 runs in four overs. Off-spinner Krishnappa Gowtham, and pacers Jofra Archer and Ben Laughlin chipped in with two wickets each.
Russell was given the man-of-the-match award for his important innings.
KKR will now play SRH, who were beaten by CSK by two wickets yesterday, in qualifier 2 on May 25 at the same venue. The finals will be held at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, on May 27.