Knight out of darkness: Rinku and Anukul rescue KKR’s sinking season, seal crucial win over RR

Eden Gardens finally had something to roar about on Sunday. Kolkata Knight Riders , winless and increasingly desperate through their first six outings of IPL 2026 , clawed back from the brink to beat Rajasthan Royals by four wickets in a tense, edge-of-the-seat thriller, their first win of the season , ending what had been KKR’s worst-ever start to an IPL campaign.

After winning the toss, Riyan Parag’s RR chose to bat first, and Yashasvi Jaiswal and teen sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi set off at a blistering pace. The two put on an 81-run opening stand before all nine remaining wickets collapsed for just 74 runs, a stunning implosion engineered by KKR’s spin twins. Varun Chakravarthy (3/14) and Sunil Narine (2/26) strangled the life out of the innings. Then came the knockout blow: Kartik Tyagi dismissed Ravindra Jadeja, Shimron Hetmyer, and Ravi Bishnoi in a single over, finishing with 3/22 , his maiden IPL three-wicket haul. RR were bundled out for 155/9 .

The chase, however, was anything but smooth. Jofra Archer struck on the very first ball, removing Tim Seifert, and Nandre Burger soon sent back Ajinkya Rahane, leaving KKR reeling early. At one stage, they were a precarious 85/6 , needing 69 off 36 balls.

That’s when Rinku Singh and Anukul Roy turned the game. Rinku, initially struggling, shifted gears by attacking Bishnoi and Archer, while Roy supported brilliantly as the duo dragged KKR back into the contest and eventually over the line.

The win extends KKR’s head-to-head lead over RR to 17–14 , keeping their playoff hopes alive after a shaky start to the season.