Lungi Ngidi and Kuldeep Yadav starred with the ball as Delhi Capitals ended their IPL 2026 campaign on a high with a commanding 40-run victory over Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens on Sunday.
After posting a challenging 203/5, Delhi Capitals delivered a clinical bowling performance to bowl KKR out for 163 in 18.4 overs. The defeat also ended Kolkata Knight Riders’ campaign on a disappointing note despite a spirited 63 from skipper Ajinkya Rahane.
The loss was particularly painful for KKR, who appeared in control of the chase at one stage before suffering a dramatic collapse. From 128/3, they lost their final seven wickets for just 35 runs as DC completely turned the contest around in the middle overs.
Lungi Ngidi led the bowling effort with figures of 3/27, while Kuldeep Yadav rediscovered his rhythm to finish with 3/29 in a match-winning spell.
Chasing 204, KKR got off to a positive start through Rahane and Finn Allen. The pair added 43 runs for the opening wicket, with Allen striking a brisk 20 before Ngidi cleaned him up.
Rahane continued to attack and found support from Manish Pandey, who scored 25 during a steady 44-run partnership. Cameron Green failed to make an impact and fell cheaply to Kuldeep as KKR reached 98/3 after 10 overs.
Rahane brought up his half-century in just 31 balls and looked set to guide KKR home with some trademark aggressive strokeplay. However, the game changed completely in the 13th over when Kuldeep removed Rahane and Rinku Singh off successive deliveries.
The left-arm wrist-spinner nearly completed a hat-trick after Tejasvi Dahiya edged behind, but Abishek Porel dropped a straightforward catch. Although the chance went down, Delhi Capitals maintained complete control from there.
Axar Patel soon dismissed Dahiya, while Rovman Powell’s run-out further dented KKR’s hopes. Ngidi and Mitchell Starc then wrapped up the tail as Delhi sealed a dominant victory.
Earlier, KL Rahul anchored the Delhi Capitals innings with a fluent 60 off just 30 balls, helping the visitors register their highest-ever IPL total at Eden Gardens.
Rahul attacked from the outset alongside Abishek Porel, who made 22 in a quick opening stand. Youngster Sahil Parakh also impressed with an enterprising 24, while Axar Patel added valuable momentum through a 25-ball 39.
Rahul reached his fifty in just 25 deliveries and kept the scoreboard moving at a strike-rate of 200 before falling in the 13th over.
Delhi Capitals then accelerated brilliantly in the death overs through David Miller and Ashutosh Sharma. Miller smashed 28 off 19 balls, including three sixes, while Ashutosh remained unbeaten on 18 as DC collected 63 runs in the final five overs to surge past the 200-run mark.
For KKR, Saurabh Dubey was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 2/28.
The result saw Delhi Capitals finish sixth in the IPL 2026 points table, while Kolkata Knight Riders signed off from a disappointing season with another defeat despite their late resurgence in the tournament.
Playing XIs:
Delhi Capitals: Abishek Porel, KL Rahul (wk), Sahil Parakh, Tristan Stubbs, David Miller, Axar Patel (captain), Ashutosh Sharma, Madhav Tiwari, Auqib Nabi, Mitchell Starc, and Lungi Ngidi
Impact Substitutes: Tripurana Vijay, Sameer Rizvi, Vipraj Nigam, Nitish Rana and Kuldeep Yadav
Kolkata Knight Riders: Ajinkya Rahane (captain), Tejasvi Dahiya, Cameron Green, Rovman Powell, Manish Pandey, Rinku Singh, Sunil Narine, Anukul Roy, Varun Chakaravarthy, Saurabh Dubey, and Kartik Tyagi
Impact Substitutes: Finn Allen, Sarthak Ranjan, Vaibhav Arora, Ramandeep Singh and Rahul Tripathi