James Faulkner stars on his birthday

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James Faulkner made a sensational return to the Rajasthan Royals side, marking his 24th birthday with three crucial wickets in the 19th over, then bowling a tight Super Over as the Royals won a nail-biter against Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League.

The Royals batted first and made 5-152, and when Faulkner took the ball in the 19th over of KKR’s run chase it seemed likely the latter would reach the target.

Faulkner, who had been going for more than 10 runs an over in the tournament, not only contained KKR but took three wickets in the over – including two consecutively.

A wicket from the final ball of his over would have given the Tasmanian allrounder a hat-trick, but despite beating the batsman it sailed just above the middle stump.

Fellow Australian Kane Richardson (1-28 from four overs) then bowled the final over, but KKR batsman Shakib Al Hasan managed to guide his side to 8-152 and tie the scores at the end of the 20 overs.

Enter Faulkner again, who was given the ball by Royals skipper Shane Watson at the start of the Super Over format.

In an eventful over, where Suryakumar Yadav and Shakib were both run-out, KKR finished on 2-11.

IPL rules dictate that should scores be tied at the end of the Super Over, the team that has hit more boundaries - in both their 20-over innings and Super Over - win the match. That meant Rajasthan needed just 11 for the win.

West Indies spinner Sunil Narine was chosen to bowl for Kolkata while the Aussie pair of Watson and Steve Smith had Rajasthan’s hopes resting on their batting.

Watson hit a single off the first ball, Smith bunted for two then a reverse sweep brought only a single, leaving seven to get from the final three balls.

Watson blasted aerially towards mid-wicket, and would have been caught had the KKR fielder not been a dozen meters inside the rope. However, it brought four valuable runs to the Rajasthan cause. 

Watson hit down the ground from the fifth ball, and there was nearly a run-out as Smith looked to push to get his captain back on strike.

Leaving the NSW and Australia star on strike for the final ball, with three required for an outright win or two for a tying win, Smith cleverly hit a soft push on the off side. With the KKR field spread and on on the rope defending boundaries, he and Watson scampered through for two to win the match. 

Earlier, Ajinkya Rahane top-scored for the Royals with 72 while Watson made 33 before being run out. Smith made a very handy 19 from 11 balls at the death.

Gautam Gambhir finally found some form after scores of 0, 0, 0 and 1 to make 45 for KKR but it was Yadav (31 off 19) and Shakib (29no from 18) that looked likely to give their side a regulation win.

But with Faulkner’s 3-11 from two overs leading the way for the Royals, Kolkata was denied.

Rajasthan (3-2, third) face Kevin Pietersen's Delhi Daredevils on Sunday at 12:30am AEST while KKR (2-3, fourth) meet Chenna Super Kings on Friday at 12:30am AEST.