NEW DELHI: Kolkata Knight Riders captain Ajinkya Rahane won the toss and elected to field first against Delhi Capitals in the IPL 2026 clash at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Sunday.“We will bowl first. It’s pretty simple. We know the scenario depending on what’s going to happen in the previous game, which is happening right now. But regardless of that, we don’t know what the result will be,” Ajinkya Rahane said at the toss. “Also, the wicket looks really good. So yes, it’s very simple. It’s still a game of cricket to be played, and the last six games have been fantastic for us. We still want to compete and win this game. As I said, we don’t know what’s going to happen, but whenever you play a game of cricket, you always look to win. Really proud of the unit, especially because it’s not easy to come back from the situation we were in. It takes courage, character, and attitude to bounce back as a team. IPL is a funny tournament with 24–25 players and support staff, maintaining that atmosphere, intensity and carrying it forward every time is fantastic. So yes, I’m really proud of each and every one. Same team,” he added.Delhi Capitals have already been eliminated from IPL 2026.“Yes, obviously I would have bowled first because, the way this tournament has gone, we’ve done well while chasing. So yes, looking at that, we would’ve bowled first. But it’s not bad because the wicket looks good and even if we look ahead to next year, though that’s still far away, if we bat first, our batsmen will get an opportunity to understand how to approach batting first as well. No, I don’t think we should see it like a bad dream,” Axar Patel said.“Obviously, there’s a lot of reflection and thought about what we could’ve done better or changed. But honestly, I don’t think we played bad cricket. I’d say we were unfortunate at crucial moments, we dropped catches at key times. Cricket is like that, when opportunities come, if you don’t grab them, you fall behind. Those opportunities were ours, and the mistakes were ours too. So I think we should learn from them and move forward. Sometimes when you’re winning, even if you make small mistakes, they get ignored because you don’t focus too much on them. But when those same small moments hurt you badly, then you realize that if we hadn’t made those mistakes, we could’ve been in a completely different position. But that’s cricket, after every season, there are always regrets. What matters is whether you executed the plans your team made. If the answer is yes, then I think you should move on and look ahead,” Axar said.KKR’s playoff hopes are still alive and depend entirely on the result of the Mumbai Indians vs Rajasthan Royals match being played simultaneously at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.If Rajasthan Royals win, they will secure the fourth and final playoff spot, knocking KKR out of the tournament.However, if Mumbai Indians manage to beat Rajasthan Royals, then the KKR vs DC clash will effectively become a knockout contest. Even then, KKR will need a massive victory margin over Delhi Capitals to stay alive in the playoff race.Delhi Capitals (Playing XI): Abishek Porel, KL Rahul(w), Sahil Parakh, Tristan Stubbs, David Miller, Axar Patel(c), Ashutosh Sharma, Madhav Tiwari, Auqib Nabi Dar, Mitchell Starc, Lungi NgidiKolkata Knight Riders (Playing XI): Ajinkya Rahane(c), Manish Pandey, Cameron Green, Rovman Powell, Rinku Singh, Tejasvi Dahiya(w), Anukul Roy, Sunil Narine, Saurabh Dubey, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kartik Tyagi
