Kolkata Knight Riders have scripted a dramatic turnaround in the IPL 2026 season. After starting the tournament as one of the strongest bowling units, KKR later struggled badly as their bowling attack lost rhythm. But just when the season reached its crucial stage, the bowlers rediscovered form and Finn Allen added the perfect finishing touch with a breathtaking century.
The Knight Riders continued their late surge with a commanding eight-wicket win over Delhi Capitals, registering their fourth consecutive victory and climbing to seventh place in the points table.
Delhi Capitals collapse after promising start
Batting first, Delhi Capitals managed only 142/8 despite a solid opening stand between Pathum Nissanka and KL Rahul. The duo added 49 runs before Nissanka departed after a quickfire 50 off 29 balls.
KL Rahul scored 23 off 14 deliveries and achieved a major IPL milestone during the innings. According to CricViz, Rahul became the first batter in IPL history to score more than 1000 runs for three different franchises — Punjab Kings (2548), Lucknow Super Giants (1410) and Delhi Capitals (1007).
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After Rahul’s dismissal, Delhi completely lost momentum. Nitish Rana (8), Sameer Rizvi (3), Tristan Stubbs (2) and Axar Patel (11) failed to contribute as wickets kept falling regularly. Ashutosh Sharma’s fighting 39 off 28 balls helped Delhi cross the 140-run mark, but six Delhi batters were dismissed for single-digit scores.
KKR’s bowling attack dominated throughout the innings. Anukul Roy and Kartik Tyagi picked up two wickets each, while Vaibhav Arora, Sunil Narine and Cameron Green chipped in with one wicket apiece. Varun Chakravarthy remained wicketless but maintained control by conceding just 28 runs in four overs.
According to CricViz, Delhi scored only 20 runs between overs 11 and 16 while losing two wickets — the lowest middle-over score in that phase in IPL 2026.
Finn Allen’s explosive century seals the chase
The chase belonged entirely to Finn Allen. The New Zealand batter had struggled for consistency earlier in the tournament and was even dropped from the playing XI. However, he stunningly grabbed his opportunity. Ajinkya Rahane departed early for 13, while Angkrish Raghuvamshi managed just one run. But Allen found strong support from Cameron Green as the pair stitched together a match-winning 116-run partnership off only 64 deliveries.
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Allen remained unbeaten on 100 off just 47 balls at an incredible strike rate of 212.77. His explosive knock included 10 sixes and five fours, with most of his scoring coming on the leg side. CricViz statistics revealed that Allen has scored 77 per cent of his runs on the leg side this season, the highest among all batters in IPL 2026. Mukul Choudhary (76%) and Cameron Green (71%) follow him on the list.
With their bowling firing again and Finn Allen finally finding rhythm, KKR’s late playoff push has suddenly gained serious momentum.
