Lucknow Super Giants held their nerve in a last-over thriller to beat Kolkata Knight Riders by four runs in a high-scoring contest at Eden Gardens on Tuesday.

Chasing 239, KKR looked in cruise control at 157/2 after a blazing start from Sunil Narine (30 off 13) and a composed 50+ stand between Ajinkya Rahane and Venkatesh Iyer. But with just 83 needed from the final 7 overs, things unraveled dramatically.

LSG skipper Rishabh Pant slowed things down, just as he had in the T20 World Cup final, giving his bowlers time to regroup. Shardul Thakur struck the turning blow, breaking the Rahane-Iyer stand and triggering a collapse—KKR lost 5 wickets for just 23 runs.

Earlier, Mitchell Marsh smashed his fourth fifty of the season while Nicholas Pooran blasted a 21-ball half-century as Lucknow Super Giants’ top-order made light work of Kolkata Knight Riders’ attack to post a mammoth 238/3.

On a sweltering afternoon with a real feel of 40°C, LSG’s opening pair of Aiden Markram (47 off 28; 4×4, 2×6) and Marsh (81 off 48; 6×4, 5×6) gave them a blazing start, adding 99 runs off just 62 balls after being put in to bat.

Pooran then lit up the evening with his 36-ball unbeaten 87, studded with seven fours and eight sixes, to power them to their second highest IPL total.

The lefthander cleverly targeted the short leg-side boundary from the dressing room end, and smashed Harshit Rana for two massive sixes over the leg-side to start the 17th over — regaining the Orange Cap from Marsh in the process.

Such was the domination that LSG reached 95 without loss at the halfway stage and then added 143 in the last 10 overs with Pooran leading the carnage.

It was a clinical batting performance from LSG’s top-three. Markram’s early impetus, Marsh’s consistency, and Pooran’s finishing fireworks left KKR completely outclassed on their preferred dry and sticky wicket.

Markram was the early aggressor, plundering Spencer Johnson for 18 runs in his second over. He lofted two fours and a six off successive deliveries.

KKR’s most economical bowler, Vaibhav Arora, began impressively with a tight off-stump line, conceding just eight runs in his first two overs but found little support from the other end.

KKR turned to Varun Chakravarthy in the fifth over to stem the flow of run. He initially applied the brakes, conceding just 16 runs from his first three overs. But with both openers well set, the breakthrough never came.

Marsh was particularly fluent, working the gaps with ease, while Markram powered his way to 47 before Harshit Rana finally broke the stand in the 11th over with an off-cutter that rattled the stumps.

But if KKR hoped for respite, Pooran had other ideas. The left-hander launched a brutal assault, racing to his third IPL fifty in just 21 balls as he toyed with the KKR bowlers.

Marsh and Pooran added 71 runs off 30 balls for the second wicket, before the Australian fell to Rana after completing his fifty in 36 balls.

But Pooran ensured the momentum never dipped, smashing Varun for a six and four in the 14th over — the spinner’s most expensive of the evening — which went for 16 runs.

In the middle overs, LSG plundered 75 runs, setting themselves up for a huge total.

KKR’s bowlers had little to offer on their traditionally slow and dry surface.

Varun finished with 0/31, while Johnson was taken apart for 46 runs in his three. Sunil Narine, too, was expensive, leaking 33 from his three overs without a wicket.

Arora remained KKR’s standout bowler, conceding just 35 runs from his four overs, but lacked support from the rest.

Andre Russell, usually deployed as a partnership-breaker, came on only in the 16th over in a baffling decision but by then LSG had made 170.

Spinner Krunal Pandya upstaged brother Hardik as Royal Challengers Bengaluru edged Mumbai Indians by 12 runs in a high-scoring thriller in the IPL 2025 match in Mumbai on Monday.

Krunal picked up three wickets in the final over as Mumbai Indians finished on 209/9 in their 20 overs after being set 222 for victory, to suffer their fourth defeat in five matches in IPL 2025.

This was RCB’s first victory at the Wankhede Stadium in 10 years, having last won at the venue in 2015.

Mumbai Indians were reeling at 99/4 following the dismissal of Suryakumar Yadav (28), before skipper Hardik Pandya (42 off 15 balls) and Tilak Varma (56 off 29 balls) launched a stunning counter-attack to propel the hosts back into the contest.

Hardik went hammer and tongs while hitting three fours and four sixes, while Tilak also fought his way back into form, but the target proved far too much for Mumbai Indians who were again ordinary with the bat for a large part in their chase.

Captain Hardik blazed his way to an entertaining 42 from 15 balls, putting on 89 runs from 32 balls for the fifth wicket with Tilak Varma, who stroked 56 from 29 balls.

RCB’s experience in the pace department proved vital as Bhuvneshwar Kumar dismissed Tilak in the 18th over before Josh Hazlewood doused MI’s hopes, getting Hardik caught at deep midwicket in the penultimate over.

The run chase didn’t start on the right note for the struggling MI. Rohit Sharma (17) was cleaned up by Yash Dayal (2/46) while swinging across an inswinging delivery and MI’s best batter Suryakumar struggled during his 28-run knock for which he consumed 26 balls.

On the other hand, Tilak brought up his maiden fifty of the season off 26 balls to make a comeback after being retired out in the last game.

The fortunes swung when Hardik clobbered two sixes and as many fours off his first four balls off Krunal Pandya in the 14th over.

In the final over, MI needed 19 runs to win but Krunal Pandya took three wickets to shut the doors on them, picking up the wickets of Mitchell Santner, Deepak Chahar and Naman Dhir to finish with excellent figures of 4/45.

Earlier, RCB rode on scintillating fifties from Virat Kohli (67) and skipper Rajat Patidar (64) to post a huge 221/5.

Kohli ruled the roost with a 42-ball 67 which gave RCB early impetus in Jasprit Bumrah’s (0/29) comeback game. Later on, Patidar smashed a blistering 32-ball 64, hitting four sixes and five fours, while Jitesh Sharma entertained with a splendid cameo of 40 from 19 balls, with four sixes and two fours to dismantle the MI attack in the final few overs.

Put into bat, RCB suffered an early blow when Phil Salt (4) played across the line to an inswinger from Trent Boult (2/57) to be bowled off an inside edge in the first over.

Unfazed by the early blow, RCB recorded their highest powerplay score against Mumbai Indians by scoring 72/1, as both Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal (37 off 22 balls) went all guns blazing.

The momentum had swayed RCB’s way before MI introduced Bumrah in the fourth over, and Kohli welcomed his India teammate with a six over midwicket.

Going at nearly 10 an over, RCB collected 20 runs off the final over in the Powerplay from Deepak Chahar as Padikkal tore into the India bowler, smacking two sixes and a four.

RCB’s onslaught had also left MI clueless for a while, as Will Jacks was brought on to bowl inside the Powerplay and was duly punished for 10 runs.

Padikkal was severe on any MI bowler who erred in his length, smashing three sixes and two fours before he was caught at long-on miscuing the lofted shot off spinner Vignesh Puthur in the ninth over. By then however, he had added 91 runs off 52 balls with Kohli for the second wicket to set the tone for the visitors.

Kohli has had significant success with the bat at Wankhede Stadium and Monday was no different — if he began with a few unconvincing boundaries, his exquisite drive through covers off Boult in the third over showed he was up for a big knock.

Kohli capitalised on every opportunity to score, whether it was picking gaps with ease or his immaculate running between the wickets.

Having completed 13,000 runs to move into unchartered territory for any Indian in the format in a little over 400 matches, a century appeared on the horizon. 

But, in the 15th over, Kohli uncharacteristically walked across the crease to heave Pandya over the leg side but holed out to Naman Dhir at deep midwicket, as his innings ended with two sixes and eight fours.

Patidar was belligerent with his strokes down the ground as well as behind the wicket, bringing up his fifty off only 25 balls. He struck MI skipper Hardik Pandya for 23 runs in the 17th over.

Patidar’s innings ended in the penultimate over when a top edge was grabbed near the ropes by a diving Ryan Rickelton in what was one of the most spectacular catches of this IPL season.

Rising star Yashasvi Jaiswal’s timely return to form with a sparkling fifty and fiery blows from Jofra Archer spoiled Punjab Kings’ homecoming as Rajasthan Royals’ secured a handsome 50-run win in the IPL in Mullanpur on Saturday.

Once Rajasthan built a tall 205 for four around Jaiswal’s stroke-filled 67, it was never going to be easy for Punjab and they were limited to 155 for 9. Nehal Wadhera played a lone hand with a 41-ball 62 for them.

Archer (3/25), seamer Sandeep Sharma (2/21) and spinner Maheesh Theekshana (2/26) also bowled with precision, while Kumar Kartikeya and Wanindu Hasaranga provided fine support.

In fact, Punjab’s chase never got the desired lift-off. Archer set the tone for target-defence with a ripping start, dismissing Priyansh Arya (0) and the in-form Shreyas Iyer (10) in successive overs — just when the latter looked threatening while slamming two terrific shots off the English pacer.

Arya went for a big swing but got it all wrong, exposing his stumps to be castled emphatically. The in-form Iyer, who was yet to be dismissed in the tournament with scores of 97* and 52* from two innings, looked in sublime touch.

He crunched a drive over extra cover and followed it up with another gorgeous shot through the off-side. But Archer had the last laugh, hurrying Iyer with sheer pace as the batter’s effort to go inside-out resulted in him getting bowled.

Sandeep added to the early damage by removing Marcus Stoinis (1), while left-arm spinner Kartikeya, introduced into the attack next, struck another blow by dismissing Prabhsimran Singh (17).

From a precarious 43/4 after the Power Play, Punjab Kings’ hopes were revived through a fighting 88-run fifth-wicket partnership between Wadhera and Glenn Maxwell (30 off 21) that came off just 52 balls.

Having impressed as an Impact Sub with a 25-ball 43 not out on debut against Lucknow Super Giants the other day, Wadhera continued his form with a counter-attacking 33-ball fifty.

He took the attack to Hasaranga and Kartikeya during his knock studded with three sixes and four fours, while Maxwell provided solid support as the pair brought the equation down to a gettable 85 required from the last six overs.

With Wadhera in charge, the chase was heading in the right direction until Theekshana pulled things back dismissing Maxwell (30 off 21 balls).

Wadhera soon followed, falling to Hasaranga and from there the chase fell apart and PBKS suffered their first defeat of the season.

Earlier, Jaiswal let his bat do the talking with a timely return to form, slamming a stroke-filled 67 to power Rajasthan Royals to a commanding 205 for four against Punjab Kings.

The 23-year-old, who had endured a lean patch in the opening three games with scores of 1, 29 and 4, roared back to form with a fluent 44-ball fifty (3×4, 5×6) just when the spotlight on him was shifting off the field.

He had come under the scanner for his surprise move to Goa that fuelled talk of a fallout with Mumbai cricket.

Shutting the noise around him, Jaiswal and skipper Sanju Samson (38 off 26 balls) gave RR their best start of the season with an opening stand of 89 after Shreyas Iyer opted to bowl.

Lockie Ferguson dismissed both Samson and Jaiswal against the run of play in the middle overs, and Nitish Rana (12) also got out cheaply as RR lost three wickets in the 11-15 overs’ phase.

The dangerous Shimron Hetmyer (20 off 12 balls) also could not get going after an explosive start.

But Riyan Parag (43 not out off 25 balls) provided the late fireworks with three sixes and as many fours to lift Royals past the 200-mark for the first time at this venue.

Parag and Dhruv Jurel (13 not out off 5) added 20 runs in the last seven balls as Royals plundered 55 runs in the final three overs to finish strongly after their season-best opening stand of 89.

Jaiswal weathered a testing first over from Arshdeep Singh before unfurling his full range of strokes.

Marco Jansen bore the brunt of Jaiswal’s resurgence — first with an upper-cut six over the keeper’s head and then a clean swing over deep square leg.

The duo added 53 runs in the Power Play. He danced down the track to deposit a 142-kph Ferguson delivery over cow corner and then reached his first IPL fifty of the season in 40 balls — his 10th overall — with a crisp drive down the ground off Yuzvendra Chahal.

A six over midwicket followed, before he went after Marcus Stoinis with back-to-back boundaries.

Just when he seemed set for a bigger score, Ferguson foxed him with a well-disguised knuckle ball that stayed low and rattled the stumps.