Kolkata Knight Riders, led by Ajinkya Rahane, notched up their first win of IPL 2026 on Sunday in dramatic fashion. Chasing 156 against the Rajasthan Royals, KKR were in deep trouble at 85/6 after both openers – captain Ajinkya Rahane and Tim Seifert – fell for ducks.
Just when the game looked out of reach, Rinku Singh produced a match-winning half-century to pull off a stunning turnaround. Despite the victory, Rahane ended up registering an unwanted record.
Ajinkya Rahane’s embarrasing record
Ajinkya Rahane now holds the record for the most ducks as an opener in IPL history, having been dismissed for zero 12 times – going past Parthiv Patel, who had 11. Other names on the list include Shikhar Dhawan and Gautam Gambhir (10 each), and David Warner (9).
Rahane’s form this season has been inconsistent. After a solid 67 in the opening game, he has struggled, failing to reach double digits in four of his next six innings. He had also recorded a duck in the previous match against Gujarat, taking his tally to 152 runs in seven games so far.
Players dismissed for a duck most frequently as openers in IPL:
12 times – Ajinkya Rahane
11 times – Parthiv Patel
10 times – Shikhar Dhawan
10 times – Gautam Gambhir
9 times – David Warner
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KKR’s First Win In IPL 2026
In the match at Eden Gardens, Rajasthan Royals posted 155, with Varun Chakravarthy (3/14) and Kartik Tyagi (3/22) leading the bowling effort, while Sunil Narine chipped in with two wickets.
Kolkata Knight Riders’ chase began poorly with early dismissals of Seifert and Rahane, and the collapse continued as Angkrish Raghuvanshi (10), Cameron Green (27), Rovman Powell (23), and Ramandeep Singh (10) fell in quick succession.
At 85/6, the game seemed lost, but Rinku Singh’s unbeaten 53 off 34 balls, supported by Anukul Roy’s brisk 29, turned the tide. KKR eventually sealed a remarkable 4-wicket win.
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