Ajinkya Rahane hailed both his bowling attack and Finn Allen’s sensational century after Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) secured a dominant eight-wicket victory over Delhi Capitals (DC) in their 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL) clash at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Friday.
KKR continued their late-season resurgence with a fourth consecutive win, keeping their playoff hopes alive after enduring a six-match winless stretch earlier in the tournament. Their bowlers laid the platform for the victory by restricting Delhi to 142/8, with spinners Sunil Narine, Varun Chakaravarthy and Anukul Roy stifling the scoring rate throughout the middle overs.
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Allen then took control of the chase, smashing an unbeaten
100 off just 47 deliveries to guide KKR home with 34 balls to spare. The explosive innings marked Allen’s maiden IPL century and capped a near-perfect evening for the visitors.
Speaking after the match, Rahane credited Allen for recovering strongly after a difficult start to the season. “First of all, let me just say I’m really happy for Finn Allen. He was struggling in the first four or five games, working really hard, but the way he batted tonight was fantastic. But I want to praise our bowlers again. We did well because of them, and they’ve been doing it so well consistently, especially those middle overs and the death overs. Our spinners, Sunil Narine, Varun, and Anukul Roy, have been fantastic,” Rahane said.
Rahane reserved special praise for Narine and Chakaravarthy, saying he felt fortunate to have both mystery spinners in his side. “As a captain, I’m so lucky to have Sunil Narine and Varun Chakaravarthy on our side. You don’t have to tell them too much.”
Credit To Fielding
The KKR skipper also highlighted the importance of the team’s fielding standards in complementing the bowling effort. “Fielding-wise, yes, we are working really hard. Our fielding coach (Dishant Yagnik) has been really strict with us. And that’s what has been helping us. The result that you’ve been seeing about the catches and the ground fielding, credit goes to our fielding coach as well.”
He also applauded bowling coaches Tim Southee and Dwayne Bravo for helping the attack recover after a difficult start to the campaign, while acknowledging the impact made by domestic performers Roy and Kartik Tyagi.
(With inputs from Agencies)
