Blessing Muzarabani bowled four overs for Kolkata Knight Riders in their second match of IPL 2026 on Thursday (April 2) against Sunrisers Hyderabad at Eden Gardens in Kolkata and picked up 4 wickets for 41 runs. He opened his wicket account by taking SRH skipper Ishan Kishan’s wicket on the second ball of the ninth over of SRH’s innings and then dismissed world No. 1 T20I batter Abhishek Shamra on the fourth ball of that same over. Both Ishan and Abhishek were caught by KKR fielders in an attempt to play big shots.
He also bowled the 20th over of SRH’s innings and got rid of Heinrich Klaasen (52 runs) on the fourth ball and debutant Shivang Kumar (4 runs) on the last ball.
Muzarabani is the second KKR bowler after Prasidh Krishna to take four
wickets in an IPL match against SRH. Krishna, who is part of the Gujarat Titans squad in IPL 2026, finished with figures of 4 for 30 in four overs against SRH at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on May 19, 2018.
Best bowling figures for KKR in IPL match vs SRH
| BOWLER | OVERS | RUNS | WICKETS | ECONOMY | VENUE | DATE |
| Prasidh Krishna | 4 | 30 | 4 | 7.5 | Hyderabad | May 19, 2018 |
| Blessing Muzarabani | 4 | 41 | 4 | 10.25 | Kolkata | April 2, 2026 |
| Jacques Kallis | 4 | 13 | 3 | 3.25 | Kolkata | April 14, 2013 |
| Lockie Ferguson | 4 | 15 | 3 | 3.75 | Abu Dhabi | October 18, 2020 |
| Andre Russell | 2.3 | 19 | 3 | 7.6 | Chennai | May 26, 2024 |
Who is Blessing Muzarabani?
Muzarabani is a 29-year-old fast bowler from Zimbabwe who joined KKR as a replacement for Bangladesh fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman for IPL 2026. Rahman was signed for Rs 9.20 crore by KKR in the IPL 2026 auction, but the BCCI removed him from their squad earlier this year.
Muzarabani made his IPL debut on Sunday, March 29, against Mumbai Indians at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai but was not able to take even one wicket in the second half of the match. He bowled three overs in that game and conceded 34 runs.
The 6-foot-8-inch-long pacer is one of the best fast bowlers of all time for Zimbabwe. Blessing has played 18 Tests, 57 ODIs and 89 T20I matches so far for Zimbabwe and dismissed 67, 70 and 106 batters, respectively. He played six matches for Zimbabwe in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup and picked up 13 wickets.
In the high-profile T20 World Cup 2026 Group B match against Australia at R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on February 13, Muzarabani picked up 4 wickets for 17 runs in four overs to help them successfully defend the total of 169 runs and secure a famous win by 23 runs over the 2021 T20 World Cup winners.
Muzabarani is third on the list of bowlers with most wickets for Zimbabwe and is one of the few cricketers from the African country to feature in the IPL.
