Ajinkya Rahane opened the innings for Kolkata Knight Riders in their seventh match of IPL 2026 against his former side Rajasthan Royals. However, in the fixture at Eden Gardens on Sunday, April 19, he failed to open his account. Rahane was dismissed by Nandre Burger on the second ball of the second over of KKR’s innings.
The duck against RR was Rahane’s second consecutive zero in this year’s IPL. In KKR’s previous match against Gujarat Titans at Narendra Modi Stadium on April 17, he was also dismissed for 0.
These back-to-back ducks saw Rahane equal an unwanted record held by Gautam Gambhir. He became only the second KKR captain after Gambhir to be dismissed for a duck in consecutive innings.
Notably, during the 2014 IPL season, Gambhir registered
three consecutive ducks for the Kolkata-based franchise.
Back to back ducks by KKR captains in IPL
| PLAYER | RUNS | BALLS | AGAINST | VENUE | DATE |
| Gautam Gambhir | 0 | 8 | Mumbai Indians | Abu Dhabi | April 16, 2014 |
| Gautam Gambhir | 0 | 4 | Delhi Capitals | Dubai | April 19, 2014 |
| Gautam Gambhir | 0 | 1 | Royal Challengers Bengaluru | Sharjah | April 24, 2014 |
| Ajinkya Rahane | 0 | 1 | Gujarat Titans | Ahmedabad | April 17, 2026 |
| Ajinkya Rahane | 0 | 2 | Rajasthan Royals | Kolkata | April 19, 2026 |
The duck by Rahane on Sunday is also his 11th zero in the IPL as opener. He now tops the list of openers with most ducks in the world’s richest franchise cricket league.
In the list of openers with most ducks in IPL, Rahane is followed by Parthiv Patel (11), Shikhar Dhawan (10) and Gautam Gambhir (10).
Most ducks as an opener in IPL
- 12 – Ajinkya Rahane
- 11 – Parthiv Patel
- 10 – Shikhar Dhawan
- 10 – Gautam Gambhir
- 9 – David Warner
The overall record of scoring most ducks in the IPL is held by Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell. Maxwell, who was part of the Punjab Kings squad in IPL 2025, failed to open his account in 19 IPL matches. He is followed by Sunil Narine, Dinesh Karthik and Rohit Sharma, who have 18 ducks each to their name.
Must win match for KKR
The ongoing match against Rajasthan Royals is a must win for KKR. If Kolkata Knight Riders lose against Royals, then their chances of finishing in the top four and qualifying for the playoffs will take a big hit. As of now, KKR can finish with a maximum of 17 points in the league stage, which will be enough to qualify. But if they lose against RR, then they can reach a maximum of 15, which might not be enough.
