KKR spinner Varun Chakravarthy revealed that the first win of IPL 2026 for the Knight Riders left a flood of emotions in the dressing room. He claimed that such scenes were not seen even after winning the title in IPL 2024.
Kolkata Knight Riders finally broke the shackles in this season of IPL 2026, winning their first game after winning more than six games in the competition. They defeated Rajasthan Royals, one of the top competing teams in the competition.
Kolkata earned their first point in the competition and moved up one place to 9th, while Mumbai Indians slipped to 10th. However, more than just a win, this win will boost the confidence that was certainly lacking for the Knights at one point.
Varun Chakraborty reveals, I can see a lot of tears today, which we did not see even when we won IPL 2024.
Kolkata Knight Riders star spinner Varun Chakravarthy revealed that the entire dressing room was in tears when the franchise finally managed to break their winning streak in the season. KKR won closely by four wickets.
“Very, very important (win), I can tell you that today I saw many tears, which we did not see even when we won IPL 2024,” Varun Chakravarthy said during the post-match press conference.
Varun Chakravarthy said, “We are not winning, and there are a lot of external noises that come in and that affect the players. But ultimately, we came out on the better side today. We won the match. Yes, there are definitely a lot of places to improve. Because we started this tournament with a lot of injuries, and that really crippled us before the tournament even started.”
Varun Chakraborty keeps his excitement under control and says, “I don’t want to make any blanket statement.”
KKR’s mystery spinner said that, although he took 3 wickets for just 14 runs, he is not too excited by his strong performance. He doesn’t want to get carried away on his return and conditions play a major role in a spinner’s success.
Varun Chakravarthy said about his performance, “Look, just because I took three wickets today, I don’t want to make any big statements. That’s the nature of the game. In the next match, if there’s nothing in the wicket, it’s going to happen with every spinner.”
As you can see, initially, every spinner was travelling. So, it is like that. Once the pitches start slowing down, we start to come into the game and be more effective. So, this is the nature of the game, and we cannot change it. So, I don’t think much about it,” said Varun Chakraborty.
Do Kolkata Knight Riders have a chance to qualify for IPL 2026?
KKR has won one match and now has three points after 7 matches. They have lost five matches, and with 7 more matches left in this edition of the competition, they need to extend their winning streak to at least the next six matches.
Winning at least six of their upcoming seven matches could help KKR secure a top-four spot, as 15 points is often considered the qualifying mark for the points table; However, they will also have to depend on other teams.
Teams like Punjab Kings and RCB have shown such dominance that it seems they will not lose many games, making it difficult for opponents like KKR. However, statistically speaking, they have a chance to qualify, but not much when seen from a rational point of view.
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