KKR vs RR Highlights: Yashasvi Jaiswal's Record-Shattering Innings Guides Rajasthan To Thumping Win

IPL 2023, KKR vs RR: Rajasthan Royals wrapped up the game with 41 balls remaining, in a massive boost to their net run rate.

Jaiswal remained unbeaten on 98 off 47 balls to steer his team to a 9-wicket win. ( Image Source :IPLT20/BCCI )

Yashasvi Jaiswal and Yuzvendra Chahal's record-breaking effort in the Eden Gardens in Kolkata helped Rajasthan Royals complete a thumping win over Kolkata Knight Riders on Thursday. While Chahal starred with the ball to finish with figures of 4/25 on his way to becoming the leading wicket-taker of the season as well as in the tournament's history to restrict KKR to 149/8, in response, Jaiswal hit the fastest IPL fifty ever which helped the Men in Pink chase down the total with 9 wickets in hand and 41 balls remaining.

It was Jaiswal all the way in the second innings as he started off by smashing 26 runs off the very first over. KKR experimented with captain Nitish Rana bringing himself on the very first over and the plan backfired as Jaiswal started off with a couple of sixes to get off the blocks and never look back from there on. He completed his half-century off 13 balls and then, realising there was job to be done he slowed down a bit but showed no patience when the ball was in his arc.

Rajasthan lost only one wicket that too in just the second over when after a bit of a miscommunication between the two, Jos Buttler was run out, courtesy of a superb direct hit from Andre Russell. However, thanks to a superb start provided by Jaisal by the scoreboard already had 30 runs on the board on 1.4 overs. RR captain Sanju Samson came in at number 3 and played his role to perfection, initially taking his time to rotate the strike and let Jaiswal be the aggressor before playing his strokes to finish on an unbeaten 48 off 29.

It was fitting that Jaiswal hit the winning runs for his side, remaining not out on 98 off 47 deliveries, a knock which was studded with 12 boundaries and 5 sixes and one that has taken him one-run short of Faf du Plessis tally of 576 in the Orange Cap race this season. 

For KKR, Venkatesh Iyer top-scored with 57 off 42 but RR completely kept them in check with Trent Boult (2/15), Sandeep Sharma (1/34) and KM Asif (1/27) being the other wicket-takers for RR. 

As a result of this win, Rajasthan have jumped to the third place on the points table with 12 points and a net run rate (NRR) of +0.633 with Gujarat Titans (GT) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) ahead of them. They have two more matches in the league stage of the competition. KKR, by contrast, are at the seventh place with 10 points and a NRR of -0.357.