Kolkata : Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) vs Punjab Kings (PBKS) match was abandoned due to heavy rain, storms, and a wet outfield at Eden Gardens, Kolkata, in the 12th match of IPL Season 2026 on 6th April. With the match called off, KKR earned their first point and opened their account in the IPL points table, while PBKS stayed at the top with 5 points.
The weather in Kolkata had been forecasted for thunderstorms (Kalbaishakhi) and chances of rain during match time. However, the match began without any rain interruption. KKR won the toss, and captain Ajinkya Rahane chose to bat first. KKR came up with their playing XI with two major changes: Navdeep Saini replaced Varun Chakravarthy due to injury, and Rovman Powell replaced Sunil Narine due to illness. PBKS continued with the same playing XI.
For KKR, the captain Ajinkya Rahane opened with Finn Allen, while for Punjab Kings, Arshdeep Singh started with the new ball. In the first over, 12 runs were scored without any wickets. In the next over, Xavier Bartlett came to bowl and took the wicket of Finn Allen at 1.4 overs. Allen returned to the pavilion after scoring 6 runs in 7 balls (c Prabhsimran Singh b Xavier Bartlett). Cameron Green came in at No. 3 and was dismissed after just 2 balls in the same over, scoring 4 runs (c Prabhsimran Singh b Xavier Bartlett). At the end of 2 overs, KKR were 16/2. Then Angkrish Raghuvanshi came in at No. 4. KKR reached 20/2 after 3 overs, and at 3.4 overs, they were 25/2 when rain began, stopping the match at 7:48 PM. The rain stopped around 10:30 PM, raising hopes for a reduced 5-over match. However, due to the wet outfield, the umpires held discussions with both team captains, and the match was officially announced abandoned after 11 PM.
As the match was washed out, both teams received 1 point each. KKR had played 2 matches and lost both earlier games, and they looked in trouble against the PBKS bowlers at 25/2 in 3.4 overs. However, due to the rain, they were fortunate to earn their first point of the season and are currently placed 8th on the table with a net run rate of -1.964. PBKS, on the other hand, remain at the top of the table with 5 points and a net run rate of +0.637.
KKR now badly need to bounce back from this setback before facing other teams. KKR will play their next match against LSG on 9th April at Eden Gardens, while PBKS will face SRH on 11th April.
