If it were mid-April, one wouldn’t even entertain the thought of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) having a shot at the qualification race for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 playoffs. The franchise hadn’t won a single game in the 19th edition of the T20 tournament, and their only point had come owing to a washout against the Punjab Kings at the Eden Gardens. But what a difference a string of wins can make. The Ajinkya Rahane-led side is finally up and about after winning four matches in a row, and the franchise now has a realistic chance of just making it to the top four.
The three-time champions on Friday night won by eight wickets against the Delhi Capitals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi, marking their fourth consecutive victory. KKR are currently seventh in the points table with 9 points from 10 matches, just 1 point behind sixth-placed Chennai Super Kings.
If the previous seasons are anything to go by, then 16 points or more have been enough for a team to qualify for the playoffs. If KKR win all their remaining four matches, the franchise would reach a total of 17 points, which should be enough to secure direct qualification without worrying about net run rate. But if KKR are to lose one game, then net run rate would come into the mix.
Who KKR play next?
However, winning the next four matches won’t be easy for KKR, given the teams they are slated to face. The Rahane-led team’s next four matches are against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), the Gujarat Titans, the Mumbai Indians and the Delhi Capitals.
RCB and Gujarat Titans are ranked higher than KKR in the points table, while Mumbai and Delhi are below them. KKR have a horrible head-to-head record against Mumbai, and the team had earlier lost this season against the team in the away match at the Wankhede Stadium.
What happened in the match against Delhi Capitals?
The contest between KKR and Delhi Capitals saw the former registering an emphatic eight-wicket win with 34 balls to spare. KKR chased down the target of 142 quite easily after Finn Allen notched up his maiden IPL century.
The Delhi Capitals looked lacklustre with both bat and ball, and KKR charged ahead in the contest. At one stage, Delhi seemed set to post in excess of 180, but Varun Chakaravarthy, Sunil Narine and Anukul Roy strangled things around in the middle overs phase, and this led to KKR restricting Delhi to just 141/8 in 20 overs.
Delhi then dismissed Ajinkya Rahane and Angkrish Raghuvanshi cheaply, but Cameron Green and Allen put together an unbeaten stand of 116 runs for the third wicket to seal the deal for KKR.
