70th match of 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL) The season concluded with a sensational display of cricket dominance at the historic Eden Gardens in Kolkata. In the final league match of the tournament on Sunday Delhi Capitals (DC) silenced an emotional person Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) The home visitors registered an emphatic 40-run win. Taking advantage of a strong start and a masterclass in spin bowling, Delhi successfully defended a commanding total, with KKR’s batting line-up completely failing to respond.
KL Rahul’s brilliant start inspires DC to post a competitive score against KKR
Opting to dominate the Eden Gardens surface early on, Delhi Capitals posted a massive score of 203/5 in the allotted 20 overs. The foundation of this mountain of runs was laid by the wicketkeeper-batsman. KL RahulWho played a breathtaking, clinical innings at the top of the order. After opening partner, Rahul took complete command Abhishek Porel Departed for 22nd.
Displaying an aggressive but calculated approach, Rahul consistently took advantage of powerplay gaps to bring up his half-century off just 25 balls. He eventually scored a brilliant 60 off 30 balls at an explosive pace of 200.00 with five fours and four sky-high sixes.
Rahul finds suitable partners Sahil Parakh (17 of 24) and captain Akshar PatelWho made an important contribution of 39 runs on 25 balls. despite this -Saurabh DubeyBest effort for KKR with the ball (2/28), david millerof Quickfire 28 and Ashutosh SharmaThe unbeaten 18-run cameo pushed Delhi past the psychological 200-run milestone.
Kuldeep Yadav destroyed KKR’s batting in the last league game and ensured victory.
Kolkata Knight Riders made a strong start while chasing the big target of 204 runs. captain Ajinkya Rahane Challenging his critics, he played a brilliant inning of 63 runs in 39 balls with the help of seven fours and four sixes. However, Rahane lacked consistent support from the opposite end lungi ngidi (3/27) Demolished the top order finn allen (20) and Manish Pandey (25) Back in the dugout.
The real turning point came when Delhi introduced their premier left-arm wrist spinner. -Kuldeep YadavAs an impact player. Kuldeep completely demolished KKR’s middle and lower order by taking 3 wickets for 29 runs in his four overs.
He defeated the dangerous one first cameron green Before delivering a double blow in the 14th over, for just 2 runs. Kuldeep had a well-set Rahane caught safely by David Miller and then removed the dangerous wicket on the very next ball. Rinku Singh For a golden goose.
KKR were completely ruined at 128/3. Akshar Patel Screamed by clean-bowling Tejasvi DahiyaAnd Mitchell Starc Wiped out the tail with a quick double-wicket blast. KKR were eventually all out for 163 runs in 18.4 overs. The combination of Rahul’s early fireworks and Kuldeep’s brilliant spin ensured that Delhi Capitals ended their league phase on an entirely high note.
Here’s how fans reacted:
Delhi Capitals finished their campaign on a high note with a thumping win over KKR#KKRvsDC #IPL2026 pic.twitter.com/6BFXpFscci
β CricketTimes.com (@CricketTimesHQ) 24 May 2026
Solid win for DC.
Delhi Capitals is a good team, I don’t think they should change too many things next season. just play with better combinations
β Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) 24 May 2026
Feel for KL Rahul π
– Scores 500 or 600 runs every season but has not been able to play any IPL final in the last 10 years, hopefully he will get this distinction soon. pic.twitter.com/B19Kt1xFGK
– Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) 24 May 2026
Another excellent season for KL Rahul.
– 593 runs at an average of 44.42 with a strike rate of 174.41. KL gave his all for the franchise, unfortunately missing out on qualification. π pic.twitter.com/4jp5PGilG8
– Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) 24 May 2026
π¨ Meet KL Rahul, an underrated cricketer π¨
Watch his performance in IPL 2026, your eyes will be opened.
β Innings β 14
– Total runs: 593
β Highest score: 152*
– Average: 45.61
β Strike rate β 176.3
β Fifties β 6
β Not out β 1
– POTM – 1
β Best innings: 152* vs PBKS– he broke… pic.twitter.com/lEfJcf2ylX
– Manzur Shaban (@Manzurshaban123) 24 May 2026
No one can play Sunil Narine better than KL Rahul pic.twitter.com/8kF8HsiLtG
β π. (@KLfied_) 24 May 2026
Thanks a lot KL Rahul β€οΈ
DC made the best buy this cycle. I know you will come back next season and score 600 runs again. It’s that easy for you. I hope you continue to score runs and DC wins the trophy. And I really hope you retire from IPL with Delhi Capitals as well. https://t.co/UgoH0BgkPS
– SAKETH α΅Κ°α΅ α΄Ύα΅Κ³α΅α΅β±Λ’α΅ (@SakethR87568651) 24 May 2026
KL Rahul- 174 strike rate + 593 runs in this IPL season even after playing with all these snakes π π
None of them even crossed 300 runs
This shows how great, brilliant and consistent our KL is… Isn’t it DC and KL fans? pic.twitter.com/zea5zGfVXe
– KL Rahul π (@gur_otal64994) 24 May 2026
Mochan Kuldeep Yadav pic.twitter.com/5yYjUl1Kbq
– ABXD (@ABXD_DC) 24 May 2026
Kuldeep Yadav looked very angry at Abhishek Porel after dropping the catch on the hat-trick ball. π¬π¬#KKRvsDC pic.twitter.com/e6cB9lwaSp
β Indian Cricket (@IPL2025Auction) 24 May 2026
Kuldeep Yadav was just one wicket away from a hat-trick, but Abhishek Porel missed the catch and the big moment was lost. π‘π‘ What could have been a special moment ended in disappointment.#KuldeepYadav #KKRvsDC pic.twitter.com/IvB8YsCBgo
– Farooq (@uf2151593) 24 May 2026
Kuldeep Yadav may be late but will be forgiven β€οΈpic.twitter.com/8ZFWKjVlKf
– ADA Share (@ada_share) 24 May 2026
Kuldeep Yadav hates KKR a lot and always protests against them pic.twitter.com/K4QcgoTHAX
– ABXD (@ABXD_DC) 24 May 2026
Also read: Rajasthan Royals took a cheeky dig at Punjab Kings after securing a place in the IPL 2026 playoffs.
