Nothing seems to be going right for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season. The three-time champions continue to remain winless in the 19th edition of the T20 tournament, despite playing matches.
The latest blow came against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Tuesday as KKR went down by 32 runs to remain at the bottom of the points table with just one point from five games. KKR skipper Ajinkya Rahane painted a sorry picture after the loss, and he found it tough to describe yet another abysmal performance.
KKR fell 32 runs short in the chase of 192, and the batters left a lot to be desired. Finn Allen (1), Sunil Narine (24) and Rinku Singh (6). Even Rahane flattered to deceive, scoring 28 runs while chewing up 22 balls in the middle. It was Rahane’s wicket off the bowling of Noor Ahmed that opened the floodgates for CSK, and in the end, the hosts wrapped up a comprehensive win to move ahead of the Mumbai Indians in the points table.
“No real momentum with the bat. Initially, with our batting, we just got 36 or 37 runs in the powerplay, I thought that was really important. The middle phase of hitting spinners was slightly challenging, but apart from that, the wicket was really good,” said Rahane during his chat with Ravi Shastri.
“We needed one batter to bat deep and then take it in the end. I think, combination-wise, we had the one we used in the last game, and it was really good. I think it’s tough at the moment. Yes, we’re not winning matches, it’s tough. What is important for all of us as a group to stay positive, keep our heads up, keep our chins up, focus on the movement,” he added.
After the loss, Rahane said KKR would go back to the drawing board and review the playing combination ahead of the next match.
“We’ll have to sit in the dressing room, think about the combination. We’ll have to make any changes. Sometimes you back the players if the results are going your way, then it’s okay. But if the results are not going your way, then you’ll have to think about the combination. But apart from that, I thought it’s all about being positive and keeping our heads up,” said Rahane.
Looking at Rahane, who spoke about the combination, the former India head coach Shastri eventually concluded the chat by asking Rahane to stay patient.
“Just be patient, and hopefully you’ll get the combination right,” he added.
How did the match unfold?
The contest between CSK and KKR began with Rahane winning the toss and opting to bowl. The five-time champions then posted 192/5 in 20 overs owing to knocks of 48 and 41 by Sanju Samson and Dewald Brevis. At one point, it seemed CSK would finish in the upper 220s. Still, KKR bowlers staged a remarkable comeback in the final 10 overs as Sunil Narine, Kartik Tyagi and Anukul Roy executed their plans to perfection.
“I thought with the ball we did really well. 190 on this wicket was really good, especially the power play, what they got 70-odd runs. After that, pulling back to 190 was an amazing job for our bowling unit,” he added.
KKR’s chase got off to a horrendous start despite making a switch in the batting order and sending Sunil Narine to open alongside Finn Allen. Both openers lost their wickets cheaply. No batter was able to show any sort of fight, and in the end, KKR had to settle for a score of 160/7, falling considerably short.