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In the final group game of the Tata Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) hosted Delhi Capitals (DC) in the reverse match at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata. Axar Patel and his boys took their revenge on the Knights, defeating them by 40 runs, ending the season on a high note as both teams were eliminated before the game even started.
KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane won the toss and decided to bowl first. They remained unchanged from their previous game. In the last game, Akshar Patel made some changes and included Kuldeep Yadav and Auqib Nabi. The former player won the Player of the Match award on his return against his former franchise.
KL Rahul shines for DC
DC openers KL Rahul and Abhishek Porel got off to a fast start after being invited to bat first. But the local boy, who had the chance, could not take advantage of it and went back after scoring 22 runs. Sahil Parakh also scored a quick 24 runs and made a small partnership with Rahul. KL Rahul completed his half-century in 25 balls.
The wicketkeeper batsman played an inning of 60 runs. This gave DC a solid base and small contributions from Axar Patel (39), David Miller (28) and Ashutosh (18) helped the Capitals post 203/5 in 20 overs.
KKR fell apart in the middle overs
While chasing, Ajinkya Rahane and Finn Allen started well but changed gears. However, the Kiwi batsman fell back after scoring 20 runs on the night despite a good start. Manish Pandey played a short innings of 25 runs. Rahane scored his second half-century of this season in 31 balls.
Rahane was out on 63 runs, and then there was a collapse as KKR lost 7 wickets in the span of 36 runs and were bowled out for 163 runs as Axar Patel and his team finished on a high note in the final game.
It becomes very difficult to stop the team- Akshar Patel
After the game, Axar Patel, in the post-match presentation, named the winners of IPL 2026. He believes that Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) will win their second trophy, given the firepower in their batting, especially their top order.
“I would say I’m very proud of the way the team fought back after the way we played in the last three games, even when you know things aren’t going well. No one thought we would give up and think we were already out. Things weren’t going well, but I’m still very proud of the effort we put in in the last games.”
“First of all, you have to accept your mistakes. After that, you realize what you need to do better. That’s the positive thing you have to take forward. If you talk about one match, if just one match had been different, things could have been very different. I think the last time we played good cricket, it was just about one match. If that one match had gone in our favour, we would have been talking differently.”
Axar Patel concluded, (on the strongest team among the qualifiers), “I think SRH are looking very strong. When their top 3 score runs, it becomes very difficult to stop that team. So I think SRH.”
Also Read: “Proud of everyone”: Ajinkya Rahane lauds entire KKR team despite disappointing end to IPL 2026
