Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) defeated Delhi Capitals (DC) with a massive eight-wicket win at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Match 51 of the 2026 Indian Premier League.
Capitals, who came to bat, scored only 142/8 runs in 20 overs, in the middle overs the spinners of Knight Riders put brakes on Delhi's innings. Pathum Nissanka scored a half-century, but it was not enough as Sunil Narine and Anukul Roy broke the Delhi innings.
Knight Riders suffered a blow early on with the unfortunate dismissals of Ajinkya Rahane and Angkrish Raghuvanshi. But from there on out, it was The Finn Allen Show. The New Zealand opener faced the Capitals bowlers ruthlessly and scored his first IPL century while remaining unbeaten on 47 balls. Cameron Green played a supporting role, scoring 33 runs from 27 balls as the Knight Riders won with 34 balls to spare.
talking points
1. Finn Allen arrived in IPL with a brilliant century.
Despite KKR sealing the big-money acquisitions of Cameron Green and Mathisha Pathirana in the auction, all the talk before the season was about finn allenWith his form in the T20 World Cup. Allen had a poor start to the season, which saw him dropped from the team before making a comeback in the last game against Sunrisers Hyderabad. He performed aggressively this time after his 29-run cameo and scored his first century of the season. He reached this milestone with the help of five fours and ten sixes in 47 balls. This was Allen at his best, attacking the Capitals' hapless bowlers with thoughtfulness.
2. Knight Riders' 'Spin Vortex' strangles another victim
Delhi Capitals started their powerplay with pace, but once the middle overs started, the Knight Riders' spinners took over. On a wicket where the batsmen were getting a lot of help, Anukul Roy and Sunil Narine took three important wickets, which weakened Delhi's innings. Narine kept spin-hitter Samir Rizvi quiet by dismissing him to deep mid-wicket, while Roy stepped up, stumping Pathum Nissanka before clean bowling Tristan Stubbs in the same over, reducing the Capitals to 89/5, which they were unable to recover from.
3. Have the home pitches given a tough challenge to Delhi?
Delhi Capitals have played six matches at the Arun Jaitley Stadium and won just one match, against Mumbai Indians. In the last four matches, they have been comprehensively defeated on pitches that coincidentally favored the opposition. The flat batting surface against Punjab Kings' aggressive batting unit meant that the visitors chased down 265 with relative ease. That defeat was followed by a defeat against Royal Challengers Bangalore, where the hosts lost six wickets for 75 runs in the powerplay. The next two matches saw slower pitches on which the spinners of Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders put the brakes on the Capitals batsmen. This raises the question whether the Capitals have struggled with the surfaces provided at their home ground.
who said what?
Axar Patel, Delhi Capitals captain:
“We scored less but the spinners also made mistakes. We lost 5 wickets in 2-3 overs and lost the momentum right there. When I and Ashutosh were batting, we wanted to take some time and not make any mistakes because that could cause trouble for the coming batsman. We have to apply ourselves better when wickets fall around us. We will think about our mistakes. We will also plan for next year. We will look at our bench “And see who can step up for us.”
Ajinkya Rahane, Kolkata Knight Riders captain
“I think first of all, I should say that I am really happy for Finn Allen. He was struggling for the first few matches but he has been working very hard. Also, it is good to see the bowlers doing their job. In terms of fielding, we are working hard. Our fielding coach is strict with us. Yes, things are working out for us. Credit also goes to our fielding coach. i guess just leave him (Narayan) alone. As a captain, I am lucky to have Narine and Varun with me. He is trying to learn from other players. He is sharing his experience with everyone. This is what helps me on the field. Whenever I ask him to bowl, he is always ready. It's all about living in the moment. We have talked about this in the dressing room. You have to be careful. We are playing well in the first five matches also. It's about the key moments that matter. I want to give credit for this to my bowling coach Bravo and Tim Southee. Also, Anukul who has had a great domestic season and Karthik who is confident. Both of these guys have been really good. As a bowling unit we are performing very well. [On Varun] As long as he is bowling, he is happy. When he is fielding he just wants to go out. He is alright.”
Finn Allen, Player of the Match
“I think I was working on getting more power under my belt. Yes, we lost a few early wickets. So, I tried to take a bit of responsibility and get wins on the board for the boys. Like I said, I just tried to take the knock carefully. It was still challenging in the beginning. Axar bowled really well and restricted us. I was just trying to get into strong positions and bat deep. Well, that's something I'm trying to work on. I know it's not easy to be in it. I was trying to give myself some chances because I was failing to capitalize on them. I thought I would have had a chance to face 40 balls today and I was trying to take it deep. Look, sometimes it changes your perspective, honestly, it was good to come back fresh.
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