Dinesh Karthik was the hero for Royal Challengers Bangalore as they edged to a three-wicket victory over Kolkata Knight Riders.

In a remarkable Indian Premier League clash on Wednesday, the Challengers needed seven off the last over as they chased down a modest target of 128.

Wanindu Hasaranga had starred with the ball for Bangalore, taking 4-20, with Andre Russell (25) the only Kolkata batter to surpass 20 runs.

The Knight Riders started well in response with the ball - Anuj Rawat going for a duck in the first over before Faf du Plessis (5) and Virat Kohli (12) fell to Tim Southee (3-20) and Umesh Yadav (2-16) in quick succession.

David Willey's steady 18 helped steady Bangalore, but they could not pick up the run rate, with Shahbaz Ahmed (27) and Sherfane Rutherford (28) also departing – the latter to Sheldon Jackson's excellent catch.

Hasaranga lofted a Southee delivery to Russell to put the pressure on, yet two excellent boundaries from Harshal Patel (10 not out) had Bangalore in the box seat heading into the final over.

Struggling with a shoulder problem, Russell stepped up to bowl, yet Karthik hit a short ball for six before sending the next delivery down the ground to seal a hard-fought win.

Karthik bides his time

In total, Karthik spent 23 minutes at the crease, yet only faced seven deliveries. And after surviving a scare with a miscalled run, the 36-year-old made the final two balls count, showing great composure under huge pressure.

Russell decision backfires

Russell had to leave the field midway through Bangalore's chase to receive treatment on his right shoulder, but it was he who was handed the ball for the decisive final over.

Shreyas Iyer was swiftly made to regret that call, with Russell finishing with figures of 0-36 from 2.2 overs.