The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) beat the Delhi Capitals (DC) with a dominant eight-wicket victory at Arun Jaitley Stadium in Match 51 of the 2026 Indian Premier League
The Capitals, put into bat, scored just 142/8 in their 20 overs, with the Knight Riders spinners putting the brakes on the Delhi innings in the middle overs. Pathum Nissanka scored a half-century, but it was not enough as Sunil Narine and Anukul Roy broke the Delhi innings open.
The Knight Riders were dented early with Ajinkya Rahane and Angkrish Raghuvanshi getting out in unfortunate fashion. But from there, it was the Finn Allen show. The New Zealand opener took on the Capitals’ bowlers in merciless fashion, scoring his maiden IPL century unbeaten off 47 balls. Cameron Green scored 33 off 27 balls in a supporting role as the Knight Riders romped home with 34 balls to spare.
Talking points
1. Finn Allen arrives in IPL with a magnificent century.
Despite KKR sealing big-money acquisitions of Cameron Green and Matheesha Pathirana in the auctions, all the talk ahead of the season was about Finn Allen, with his form in the T20 World Cup. Allen had a poor start to the season, which saw him dropped from the side, before returning in the previous game against the Sunrisers Hyderabad. He followed up his 29-run cameo with an onslaught this time, getting his first century of the season. He reached the milestone off 47 balls, hitting five fours and ten monster sixes. This was Allen at his best, with a calculated assault on the hapless Capitals bowlers.
2. Knight Riders ‘spin vortex’ chokes another victim
The Delhi Capitals started their powerplay with momentum on their side, but once the middle overs started, the Knight Riders’ spinners took over. On a wicket where there was enough help for the tweakers, Anukul Roy and Sunil Narine picked up three key wickets, which dented the Delhi innings. Narine kept spin-hitter Sameer Rizvi quiet as he holed out to deep mid-wicket, while Roy made further inroads, having Pathum Nissanka stumped before cleaning up Tristan Stubbs in the same over to leave the Capitals reeling at 89/5, which they were unable to recover from.
3. Have Delhi been hard done by the pitches at home?
The Delhi Capitals have played six games at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, and have won just a single one against the Mumbai Indians. In the last four matches, they have been beaten comprehensively on pitches which have coincidentally favoured the opposition. A flat batting surface against the Punjab Kings’ fierce batting unit meant the visitors chased down 265 with relative ease. That loss was followed by one against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru, where the hosts lost six wickets in the powerplay in an eventual collapse of 75. The next two games saw slower surfaces on which Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders’ spinners applied the brakes on the Capitals batters. This begs the question of whether the Capitals have struggled with the kind of surfaces they have been provided at their home ground.
Who said what?
Axar Patel, Delhi Capitals Captain:
“We scored under par but spinners made mistakes as well. We lost 5 wickets in 2-3 overs and lost the momentum there. When me and Ashutosh were batting, we wanted to take some time and not make any mistakes as it would have created trouble for the upcoming batter. We have to apply ourselves better when wickets fall around us. We will think about our mistakes. We will plan for the next year as well. We can look at our bench and see who can step up for us.”
Ajinkya Rahane, Kolkata Knight Riders Captain
“I think first of all, let me say I’m really happy for Finn Allen. He was struggling for the first few games but he was working very hard. Also, pleased to see the bowlers do their work. Fielding-wise, we are working hard. Our fielding coach is strict with us. Yes, things are working for us. Credit goes to our fielding coach as well. I think just leave him (Narine) alone. As a captain, I’m lucky to have Narine and Varun with me. He’s trying to learn from other players. He’s sharing the experience with everyone. That’s what helps me on the field. Whenever I tell him to bowl, he’s always ready. It’s all about staying in the moment. That’s what we have talked about in the dressing room. You have to be attentive. We have been playing well in the first five games as well. It’s about the crucial moments that are important. I want to give the credit to our bowling coaches Bravo and Tim Southee. Also, Anukul who had a fantastic domestic season and Kartik who is confident. These two guys have been really good. As a bowling unit, we are doing very well. [On Varun] As long as he is bowling, he is happy. When he’s fielding, he just wants to go out. He’s fine.”
Finn Allen, Player of the Match
“I think I was working on having more strengths on my belt. Yes, we lost a couple of early wickets. So, I tried to have a bit of responsibility and get a win on the board for the boys. As I said, I just tried to knuckle down carefully. It was still challenging at the start. Axar bowled really well and restricted us. I was just trying to get in strong positions and bat deep. Well, that’s something I have been trying to work on. I know it’s not easy to stay in it. I was working with Watto (Watson) and Abhishek as I was just trying to give myself a few chance as I know I was getting starts but was unable to convert them. It’s been pretty frustrating but good to have a personal success. I was playing according to the situation. For a second, it’s important to forget about my batting and play the situation. I think I knew that if I stayed out there, we have a chance. I was committed to facing 40 balls which doesn’t happen quite often. It was keeping me ticking today and I was trying to take it deep. Look, sometimes it changes your perspective right? You go out of the team, have a mental refresh. To be honest, I was putting a lot of pressure on myself at the start. It was nice to have that setback, refresh and come back in. And yeah.”
