KKR snapped their losing streak with a thrilling four-wicket win over RR, powered by Rinku Singh’s unbeaten fifty and Varun Chakaravarthy’s decisive spell.
IPL 2026: Rinku's finishing touch help KKR seal first win of the season against RR (PC: IPL/X)
Finally registering a win after a string of disappointing results, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) pulled off a remarkable comeback to defeat Rajasthan Royals (RR) by four wickets with two balls to spare in their IPL 2026 clash at Eden Gardens on Sunday.
Chasing a modest target of 156, KKR found themselves in deep trouble early, reduced to 40/3 in the powerplay and further slipping to 87/6 by the 14th over. However, a match-winning unbeaten partnership between Rinku Singh and Anukul Roy turned the game on its head, guiding the hosts to 161/6 in 19.4 overs and sealing their first win of the season.
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🚨 IPL 2026 | Kolkata Knight Riders secured their first win of the tournament in a thriller, beating Rajasthan Royals by 4 wickets after chasing 156 and finishing at 161/6 in 19.4 overs. @IPL | @rajasthanroyals | @KKRiders | #KKRvsRR #RinkuSingh #JofraArcher #RiyanParag… pic.twitter.com/WKo1eh94j5
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— The Statesman (@TheStatesmanLtd) April 19, 2026
Rinku Singh anchored the chase with a composed unbeaten 53 off 34 balls, striking five boundaries and two sixes. He found an able ally in Anukul Roy, who played a crucial supporting role with an unbeaten 29 off 16 balls. The defining moment came in the final over when Anukul smashed a vital six off Jofra Archer, shifting the momentum decisively in KKR’s favour.
Earlier, Cameron Green had provided a quick boost with a 27 off 13 balls, but the middle-order collapse, triggered by disciplined bowling from Rajasthan, left KKR staring at defeat before the late heroics.
For RR, Ravindra Jadeja was the standout performer with the ball, returning figures of 2/8 in three overs and removing key batters at crucial junctures. Yash Raj Punja also impressed, picking up his maiden IPL wicket, while Archer nearly pulled off a successful defence in the final over.
Earlier in the evening, KKR’s bowlers produced a clinical effort to restrict Rajasthan Royals to 155/9 after the visitors got off to a flying start.
Opening batters Yashasvi Jaiswal and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi laid a strong foundation with an 81-run partnership. Rajasthan raced to 63/0 in the powerplay, with both batters looking in complete control. Sooryavanshi struck a fluent 46, while Jaiswal contributed 39 before falling against the run of play.
The turning point came with the introduction of spin, as Varun Chakaravarthy broke the opening stand and went on to claim 3/14, also reaching the milestone of 200 T20 wickets. Sunil Narine complemented him well, applying pressure through tight overs and picking up two wickets.
Rajasthan’s innings unravelled dramatically in the middle and death overs, collapsing from 81/0 to 124/5 as the scoring rate dipped sharply. Kartik Tyagi then delivered a decisive blow with a superb spell, claiming 3/22, including three wickets in a single over to derail any hopes of a late surge.
From a promising 139/4 after 14 overs, RR managed to add just 16 runs while losing five wickets in the final phase, finishing well below par on a good batting surface.
In the end, KKR held their nerve in a tense chase, with Rinku Singh and Anukul Roy producing a memorable finish to cap off a thrilling contest.
Rajasthan Royals: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Riyan Parag (c), Shimron Hetmyer, Donovan Ferreira, Ravindra Jadeja, Jofra Archer, Nandre Burger, Ravi Bishnoi, and Brijesh Sharma
Impact Substitutes: Sandeep Sharma, Shubham Dubey, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Ravi Singh, Yash Punja
Kolkata Knight Riders: Ajinkya Rahane (c), Tim Seifert (wk), Cameron Green, Rovman Powell, Rinku Singh, Sunil Narine, Ramandeep Singh, Anukul Roy, Vaibhav Arora, Kartik Tyagi, Varun Chakaravarthy
Impact substitutes: Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Finn Allen, Manish Pandey, Tejasvi Singh, Navdeep Saini
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