Kolkata survive Parag's six-attack to steal thriller

Royals skipper Riyan Parag's 95 off 45 balls not enough as KKR, defending 206 after Russell's 55, win to stay in playoffs race

- Somshuvra Laha

KOLKATA: Two off nine balls. That's where Andre Russell was at one point but he doesn't panic or fret. In a format where every ball is an event, Russell can be amazingly convincing in the way he converts slow starts. So, where Riyan Parag and Maheesh Theekshana probably thought Russell had been checked adequately, the game had actually been set up for a sensory overload. Next 16 balls? 55 runs, a roller coaster ride that seemed to be auto-calibrating its route every ball, sending Eden Gardens into a tizzy and Rajasthan Royals scrambling for desperate changes.

Russell had his way though, as did KKR ultimately, but not before they had their hearts in their mouths as Parag and Shimron Hetmyer added 92 for the sixth wicket and set up a nerve-wracking finish. Needing 22 off the last over from pacer Vaibhav Arora, Shubham Dubey hit 6, 4, 6 to bring down the equation to three from one. Arora went for a yorker, Dubey jammed it towards Rinku Singh — KKR's best fielder any day — at long-on and set off for two. Rinku charged at the ball, unleashed a flat throw at the bowler's end Jofra Archer was sprinting to, giving Arora ample time to whip off the bails and give KKR a one-run win.