With the race for the play-off spot intensifying, the six-wicket victory helped Kolkata consolidate the No.3 spot in the eight-team table. But for a while on Tuesday evening, it was a far-fetched prospect.

Jos Buttler and Rahul Tripathi launched an almighty assault on Kolkata in the first few overs, bringing up the 50-run mark in just 3.2 overs. However, Yadav then came in and applied the brakes, nipping out Ajinkya Rahane, Buttler, Stuart Binny and Ben Stokes to help shoot out Rajasthan for just 142. Kolkata wrapped up the chase with two overs to spare.

“As a team we’ll miss him, his inputs, his batting. And even Stokes’ all-round performance, he bowled really well tonight. (But) we’ve three-four overseas players in our team who are equally good. It’s all about giving your best in that one game. I’m sure the boys will step up.”