On Sunday, May 4, at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, the 53rd IPL 2025 match saw the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) defeat the Rajasthan Royals (RR) by a single run. With 11 points in 11 games, the reigning champions were able to maintain their hopes of making the playoffs.
The batting lineup of KKR scored 206 for four during their first batting innings due to consolidated performances by their players. The match belonged to Andre Russell who scored 57* runs and this was followed by Angkrish Raghuvanshi (44) Rahmanullah Gurbaz (35) and Ajinkya Rahane (30) made essential contributions.
RR then slumped to 71/5 in 7.5 overs, putting themselves in a bad predicament. With a spectacular knock of 95 (45) at this point, captain Riyan Parag single-handedly got his team back into the game. He also hit six sixes in a row at one point, but he died in the 18th over before completing the task. After that, the Royals scored 205 for 8 in 20 overs.

The IPL 2025 encounter between the Kolkata and Rajasthan teams was thrilling for the fans. They posted amusing memes on X (previously Twitter) to express their feelings to the exciting game. These are a few of the top memes:
Riyan Parag after hitting 5 sixes in an over https://t.co/0joouMf7Mq pic.twitter.com/cbb6orHStd
— Sagar (@sagarcasm) May 4, 2025
— Out Of Context Cricket (@GemsOfCricket) May 4, 2025
Stuart Broad whenever a batsman hits 6 consecutive sixes pic.twitter.com/L5UbHzACDP
— Sagar (@sagarcasm) May 4, 2025
Dhruv Jurel is a great finisher.
One day he will finish RR and his career if he goes like this pic.twitter.com/G8msGJ2O76
— Dinda Academy (@academy_dinda) May 4, 2025
— Out Of Context Cricket (@GemsOfCricket) May 4, 2025
Riyan Parag #KKRvsRR pic.twitter.com/XUwieXQ7Gw
— Rajabets 🇮🇳👑 (@rajabetsindia) May 4, 2025
Riyan Parag bechara kitna bhi accha khel le lekin public #KKRvsRR pic.twitter.com/ocPwNRCpF7
— Raja Babu (@GaurangBhardwa1) May 4, 2025
Rahul dravid sahab #KKRvsRR pic.twitter.com/58jsDgPVJT
— Raja Babu (@GaurangBhardwa1) May 4, 2025
“It was really close” – Ajinkya Rahane after KKR’s narrow victory against RR in IPL 2025 match in Kolkata

Ajinkya Rahane, the captain of KKR, gave a reflection on the victory during the post-match presentation.
“It was really close but nevertheless really happy with the win. In T20s if you win by one or two runs it gives you satisfaction. I thought the partnerships were really crucial between Gurbaz and myself and then Angkrish and Russell, that was really important. We wanted to go hard in the powerplay. After that we thought the wicket was a little slow and dry.”
Ajinkya Rahane
“We thought if we could bat well from overs 7 to 12, the batters could express himself. Even Russell was 2 off 9 balls and then he could score the big runs. That’s what Angkrish and I spoke about – to take our time and it paid off. Fielding is the factor you can control as a unit. If you can save 10 or 12 runs in the field that’s a bonus in IPL. The bowlers are doing their job. In the end that was the difference.”
Ajinkya Rahane