The three-time IPL champions, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), finally ended their six-match losing run in the IPL 2026 with a stunning four-wicket victory against Rajasthan Royals (RR) at Eden Gardens.
After a shaky start from the pacers, KKR’s spinners drew them back into the game. Varun Chakaravarthy was named “Player of the Match,” ending with outstanding stats of 3/14 and taking his 200th T20 wicket. Sunil Narine (2/26), who squeezed the life out of RR’s middle order, provided him with excellent assistance. Kartik Tyagi also played an important role in the death overs, taking 3/22 to keep RR under 160.
In the chase, KKR began disastrously, with both openers, Ajinkya Rahane and Tim Seifert, going for ducks, making them the 13th team in IPL history. Soon after, Cameron Green (27) offered a quick counter-attack, but the match seemed lost to be over in the 14th over, with the score at 85/6. When rookie Yash Raj Punja knocked out Ramandeep, the hosts trailed 85-6. That’s when Rinku Singh (53*) and Anukul Roy (29*), both left-handed, joined forces. They went after Bishnoi in the 16th over, which went for 19 runs, and RR struggled to control the flow of runs after that. Both of them combined for an undefeated 76-run partnership that decided the game. Rinku timed his innings well, closing the game with a flurry of boundaries in the last over to secure the victory.
RR started well, going to 63/0 in the powerplay. Young sensations Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (46) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (39) destroyed the KKR pace assault early on. However, the introduction of spin resulted in a cataclysmic collapse. From a position of total superiority, RR fell to 118/4 before limping to 155/9. Captain Riyan Parag‘s bad run continued, as he achieved only 12 runs and failed to deliver the late-over acceleration required.
The RR bowlers originally made the target of 156 appear like a mountain. Nandre Burger and Jofra Archer struck in the first two overs, eliminating the KKR openers for ducks. Ravindra Jadeja was the highlight of the bowlers, with a brilliant spell of 2/8 in 3 overs that stifled the middle order and reduced KKR to an embarrassing 85/6. However, the death bowling struggled; Brijesh Sharma and Ravi Bishnoi were costly in the last stages, failing to safeguard nine runs in the final over against a rampaging Rinku Singh.
With this win, KKR now finally have three points from seven games and have climbed a step up in the points table.
Scorecard:
Rajasthan Royals: 155/9, Overs 20, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi 46, Varun Chakaravarthy 3/14
Kolkata Knight Riders: 161/8, Overs 17.4, Rinku Singh 53*, Ravindra Jadeja 2/8
