Kolkata Knight Riders vs Delhi Capitals, Match 70 Match Summary

A new week, and a new challenge - We are 70 matches into the season, which has just flown by, but there are still four matches left, the most crucial four games of the season. Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Gujarat Titans, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals, are the teams that will fight for the coveted trophy, starting with Qualifier 1. The playoff round will begin on Tuesday, 26 May and it will be Royals Challengers Bengaluru taking on Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 1, with the winner getting a direct entry into the final. That game will be played in the picturesque HPCA Stadium in Dharamshala and will begin at 7.30 pm IST (2 pm GMT). As usual, you can join us a lot sooner for the build-up as well. Until then, take care and goodbye!

POTM - Kuldeep Yadav has been given the accolade for his stellar figures of 3 for 29. He says he wasn't happy coming into this game given the way they had wanted to finish as a team earlier, and admits he didn't have a great season overall, saying he expected more from himself. He says after the last game he went back home and worked with his coach, played a game there, and adds that it is the small things you tend to forget very quickly. He says he felt he was bowling a bit more open-chested and that sometimes you stop using your full body, adding that it is exactly where T20 batters get on top of you. He calls it a lovely game for him to come back with after the last match. He says he was very clear with his plans going in, having read the wicket in the first innings as a bit slow, and says the wicket of Rinku was the perfect example of executing that plan. On the dropped catch off the hat-trick ball, he says these things happen and that he is pleased with the way he bowled overall. On his conversation with his coach, he shares that he was very straightforward, telling him to spin the ball and try to deceive the batter, adding that when you spin the ball, you give yourself a chance of getting the batter out.

The captain of Delhi Capitals - Axar Patel says that it's a good feeling and they gave their best in the last game, though they haven't qualified for the playoffs. He says that they have to learn from their mistakes and they played well but things didn't go their way. He further says that this is a high-pressure tournament and as a captain you need to be in a good mindset. He reckons that he keeps his mind calm and ends by saying that SRH are playing good cricket and he feels they are a stronger side in the playoffs.

The Presentation ceremony...

Let's recap the first innings - After being put into bat first, the DC openers added 40 runs for the first wicket, but soon enough, KL Rahul started to take charge. The KKR spinners remained ineffective for a while as Rahul struck a fifty, but the likes of Narine and others came back well. Axar Patel too played a brisk knock as the KKR seamers went the distance.

A night to forget, but not the run - Kolkata Knight Riders were out of the playoff race just a few overs in the game, but they would have wanted to finish with another win, especially in front of their home fans. Ajinkya Rahane led from the front and struck a half-century, but the KKR batters started to lose their way as the run-rate pressure started to mount. They lost wickets in a heap in the backend of the chase and were blown away by the DC bowlers.

Let's now hear from Lungi Ngidi - Ngidi says it feels good to finish on a high after an up-and-down season overall. He adds that it makes it easier for them to look back and identify where things went wrong, and says the focus next season will be on minimising the small errors. On his slower ball, he says it has taken years to build the confidence to bowl it and that playing in certain conditions and doing well is what builds that confidence, pointing to the T20 World Cup as the moment that showed him he could do it. On carrying confidence from the World Cup into the IPL, he says playing in certain conditions and doing well builds confidence, drawing a parallel with batters who seem to find everything falling into place after one good knock. He says the World Cup showed him he could do it in these conditions and that he came into the IPL with heaps of confidence and continued from where he left off. On the team's season, he says there was a stage where it looked like they might scrape the bottom of the table and that pride became one of the biggest talking points, maintaining they were never a bottom of the table side on paper. He says some of their performances made them think that doing a few things better might have put them in the playoffs, and that he is happy to end on this note. When asked about Starc's fielding and its effect on the group, he says the pacer is making them all step their game up and calls him an absolute athlete, having watched him run from long on to long on throughout a game and still come back to bowl 140 kph yorkers. He says playing alongside another international player of that quality gives him an extra level of confidence and that seeing Starc do that puts a big smile on his face.

The skipper of Kolkata Knight Riders - Ajinkya Rahane says that they needed one batter to go big and he took his chances. He says that they have had a disappointing season but they had many positives and he is proud of each and every individual in their team. He reckons that they didn't qualify and the season didn't go their way but their side gave it all. On what happens after the season ends, he says the guys have their commitments and will head home, take some time off and then connect over calls to have discussions moving forward. On his personal plans after the IPL, he says it is just a couple of days off before he heads back to play his local league in Mumbai, something he is really looking forward to. He says he is happy as long as he is playing cricket and that it will be a couple of days off and then back to it.

A team effort with the ball - The Capitals showed their might with the ball and all four of their frontline bowlers, all champs in their rights, have put on a memorable performance with the ball. DC had a big score on the board, but KKR came at them hard with the bat. However, they managed to pick wickets in a heap and in the last few overs, it was just a one-way street. Kuldeep Yadav and Lungi Ngidi finished with three wickets a piece as Mitchell Starc got two as well.

Capitals win big in Kolkata - What an amazing day to round off the league stage of the 2026 IPL season, and it is Rajasthan Royals, who outlasted Punjab Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders to seal the last playoff berth. Meanwhile, DC finish their seaason with a massive win, making it three on the trot and they leapfrog KKR in the points table as well.

OUT! MISTIMED AND CAUGHT! DC comprehensively beat KKR by 40 runs. At just 112.7 kph. Ngidi floats another slow, dipping off-cutter full outside off. Chakaravarthy goes after it again, doesn't pick the variation and swings hard. Gets the connection off the toe end and slices it uppishly towards cover, where Axar takes a few steps by turning back and pouches a simple catch to end KKR's misery. From 96/2, the Knight Riders have been bowled out on 163. Ngidi finishes off with a spectacular three-for.

Wide yorker, with pace taken off, outside off. Varun Chakaravarthy has to reach for it to work it through the off side but misses to connect.

A yorker at 137.6 kph, on middle. Varun jams the bat down and flicks it to deep mid-wicket but denies the run.

FOUR! Races through! Low full toss, slanting onto the pads. Varun Chakaravarthy whips it off the inner half and finds the gap at deep backward square leg for a boundary.

FOUR! Edged and beats the keeper! Very full, almost a yorker, around off and it straightens off the deck. Saurabh Dubey looks to tap it into the off side, but ekes an outside edge and the ball beats the diving Abishek Porel behind the wickets, to his right and races away to the fence.

From around the stump, this is a yorker, outside off, at 144.2 kph. Saurabh Dubey drops the bat down and steers it to backward point.

Saurabh Dubey is the last man in.

OUT! TAKEN EASILY! This has been a monumental collapse from the Knight Riders. Full on off stump, angling into the batter. Kartik backs away to leg and goes for the lofted slash over mid off, but mistimes it completely. Chips a simple catch to Axar Patel, who settles under it and takes the catch. KKR are 156/9. DC need just 1 wicket to win.

Full and tailing in on the legs. Chakaravarthy gets his bat down just in time and chips it softly towards a vacant mid on for a run.

Varun Chakaravarthy walks in at number 10.

OUT! CAUGHT AND BOWLED! Starc gets his first wicket as Roy falls. Length ball on off, tailing back in at 144.2 kph. Anukul Roy backs away to leg and looks to muscle it down the ground, but gets a splice off the top of the bat. The ball is sliced and balloons straight up and Starc, in his follow-through, calls for it, runs a bit to his left and settles under it and takes it cleanly.

Rovman Powell departs. Kartik Tyagi is the new batter.

OUT! POWELL IS RUN OUT! That should be the game for the Capitals. A sensational piece of fielding by Rizvi. Starc misses the yorker by a yard or so, on off. Anukul Roy carves it over the bowler and they run the first one but there is a slight hesitation for the second run before they eventually get the skates on for it. Sameer Rizvi runs across to his left from long off and fires in a direct hit at the non-striker's end where Powell is caught short by a fair bit. KKR are 154/7, needing 50 runs from 17 balls.

FOUR! Inside edge and runs away! Spears another yorker by attacking the pads, Rovman Powell tries to take it on the full to tonk it over the off side, but gets a thick inside edge onto the pads before the ball runs between the keeper and the short fine leg fielder for a boundary. KKR need 51 runs off 18 balls.

Varies the pace again by executing the slower yorker, on middle and off. Roy jams the bat down and squeezes it between cover and point for an easy single.

Oh, a low full toss at 132.9 kph and it moves away while dipping, far outside off. Roy tries to drive it away but gets a bottom edge back to the bowler.

FOUR! Just clears the in-field! Goes pace off, on off and full in length. Anukul Roy has to wait for months for the ball to arrive and carves it over David Miller at extra cover for a boundary.

Fires in a yorker on middle, at pace at 135.1 kph. Rovman Powell looks to flick it away, but inside edges it onto the boot and it gets deflected behind the stumps on the off side for a single.

There's the slower dipping yorker, around off. Roy carves it away to deep point for a single.

STRATEGIC BREAK! Time for the final break in the league stage of this season. Delhi Capitals have made massive inroads in this middle over phase with Kuldeep Yadav turning the screws on. KKR have lost most of their trusted batters in the slide from 96/2 to 129/6. They still require 62 runs from 24 balls with the last recognised batting pair in the middle. Though it's doable, but both of these batters will have to bat till the end. Powell is capable and everyone knows his might and that's the wicket DC would be aiming for to slam the door shut. Lungi Ngidi is back on. 2-0-12-2 so far are his bowling figures.