Yashasvi Jaiswal set a blistering pace by scoring 26 runs in the very first over and reaching his half-century off 13 balls, making him the fastest player in tournament history to reach the mark

Although Venkatesh Iyer made a half-century, Yuzvendra Chahal was the star as he took four wickets to win the Purple Cap and become the IPL’s all-time leading wicket-taker. In 20 overs, KKR scored 149/8.

Before Yuzvendra Chahal struck to end the partnership, Iyer and Nitish Rana put together a 48-run stand for the third wicket to lead a strong recovery.

After two early wickets, commander Nitish Rana and Venkatesh Iyer drove a sluggish recuperation for KKR with the group’s fifty coming in 8 overs.

Both KKR openers, Jason Roy and Rahmanullah Gurbaz, were bowled out by Trent Boult early in the innings.

Sanju Samson, the captain of RR, won the toss and decided to bowl first against KKR.

The guests have rolled out two improvements – Trent Boult and KM Asif are in, Kuldip Yadav and Murugan Ashwin are out. Anukul Roy will take the place of Vaibhav Arora for KKR.

Tonight’s matchup at Eden Gardens will feature two teams whose last-ball finishes were at opposite ends of the spectrum. While KKR prevailed, RR lost the match.

However, it has been an odd turn of events for RR. Gujarat Titans and Chennai Super Kings, for example, have maintained their form from the first half of the season, but RR has gone the other way. The runners-up from last year are now fighting to keep their own chances of qualifying for the playoffs. They were once a strong contender for a top-two finish.

KKR and RR are in the same boat, but their story is different. To keep themselves alive in the race, they have won three of their last four matches. Andre Russell has given indications of his old self, spinners have been on the cash, in-structure Rinku Singh has been completing games, commander Nitish Rana has been in great touch himself.

Sanju Samson will be under pressure to reverse RR’s recent slide, which has seen them lose five of their last six matches. KKR’s captain was pleased to finally have a surface where his spinners could have a better say, as they have begun to win at home. RR also has access to high-quality spinners.

Full Squads

Rajasthan Royals: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson (wk/captain), Joe Root, Dhruv Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer, Ravichandran Ashwin, Murugan Ashwin, Sandeep Sharma, Kuldip Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Devdutt Padikkal, Adam Zampa, Riyan Parag, Jason Holder, Obed McCoy, Trent Boult, Navdeep Saini, Akash Vasisht, KC Cariappa, KM Asif, Kuldeep Sen, Donavon Ferreira, Abdul Basith, Kunal Singh Rathore

Kolkata Knight Riders: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana (captain), Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Shardul Thakur, Vaibhav Arora, Harshit Rana, Suyash Sharma, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jason Roy, Anukul Roy, N Jagadeesan, Lockie Ferguson, Kulwant Khejroliya, Tim Southee, Umesh Yadav, Mandeep Singh, Johnson Charles, David Wiese, Aarya Desai