Kolkata, April 19: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) celebrated their first victory in the 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL) after a thrilling match against Rajasthan Royals (RR), winning by four wickets at Eden Gardens. The remarkable partnership between Rinku Singh and Anukul Roy played a crucial role in this achievement.
After losing their initial two matches and facing a rain-affected draw against Punjab Kings, KKR had suffered three consecutive defeats. With this win, KKR climbed to the ninth position in the points table. Conversely, RR faced their second consecutive loss, remaining in third place after this match.
Winning the toss, Rajasthan Royals opted to bat first but managed to score only 155 runs, losing nine wickets in their allotted 20 overs. The opening pair of Vaibhav Surya and Yashasvi Jaiswal provided a strong start, accumulating 81 runs in just 8.4 overs.
Vaibhav scored 46 runs off 28 balls, hitting two sixes and six fours, before getting out. Jaiswal contributed 39 runs from 29 balls, including six boundaries. Shimron Hetmyer and captain Riyan Parag added 15 and 12 runs, respectively. For KKR, Karthik Tyagi and Varun Chakravarthy took three wickets each, while Sunil Narine claimed two.
In response, KKR had a shaky start, losing Tim Seifert (0) on the first ball and captain Ajinkya Rahane (0) in the next over, leaving them at just five runs. Cameron Green then steadied the innings with a quick 27 runs off 13 balls, while Rovman Powell added 23 runs. At one point, KKR was struggling at 85 runs with six wickets down.
However, Rinku Singh and Anukul Roy formed an unbeaten partnership, scoring 76 runs off 37 balls to guide KKR to a thrilling victory. Rinku remained not out at 53 runs from 34 balls, hitting two sixes and five fours, while Roy contributed 29 runs off 16 balls. For RR, Ravindra Jadeja took two wickets, and Jofra Archer, Nandre Burger, Ravi Bishnoi, and Yash Raj each took one.
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