Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) finally registered their first win of the Indian Premier League 2026, defeating Rajasthan Royals (RR) by four wickets on April 19 at Eden Gardens, Kolkata.
Batting first, RR posted 155/9 in their 20 overs. Yashasvi Jaiswal scored 39, while Vaibhav Sooryavanshi top-scored with 46. However, the rest of the batting lineup struggled against KKR’s spin attack. Varun Chakravarthy led the charge with an impressive 3/14, while Sunil Narine picked up 2/26. Pacer Kartik Tyagi also made a strong impact, claiming 3/22 to restrict RR to a below-par total.
In response, KKR had a shaky start, losing their top-order batters early. The innings was then stabilized by Rinku Singh and Anukul Roy, who stitched together a crucial partnership under pressure. Rinku played a match-winning knock of 53* off 34 balls, smashing five fours and two sixes at a strike rate of 155.88. Anukul provided solid support with an unbeaten 29 off 16 deliveries, guiding the team home.
For RR, Ravindra Jadeja was the standout bowler, returning figures of 2/8 in his three overs. With this win, KKR climbed to ninth place in the points table, while RR, despite the loss, remained third with eight points in the tournament.
Here are the most important stats and milestones from Match 28:
- Varun Chakravarthy completed 200 wickets in T20s and is the second-fastest Indian to reach the mark (155 matches).
- His spell of 3/14 vs Rajasthan Royals (Kolkata, 2026) is his best in the Indian Premier League and the fourth-best for Kolkata Knight Riders vs RR.
- Jofra Archer has the most powerplay wickets (6) in IPL 2026 (ER: 8.63).
- RR have taken the most wickets in the powerplay (16), while KKR have lost the most wickets (15) in overs 1-6 this season.
- Ajinkya Rahane became the second KKR captain after Gautam Gambhir to register ducks in consecutive innings (Gambhir had three in 2014).
- Rahane holds the record for most ducks in IPL history (15) and most ducks as an opener (12).
- Jofra Archer has taken the most wickets off the first ball of an IPL innings (5).
- KKR have the lowest opening partnership average (20.57) in IPL 2026.
- Yashasvi Jaiswal & Vaibhav Sooryavanshi have best run-rate for opening stands (min 500 runs): 11.84 (3rd best)
- Yashasvi Jaiswal & Vaibhav Sooryavanshi have best average for opening stands (min 500 runs): 57.69 (3rd best)
- Yashasvi Jaiswal & Vaibhav Sooryavanshi have most 50+ opening partnerships for RR: 8 (joint second)
