Lucknow Super Giants are looking for their third win of the season, and the last time they won a match before the four consecutive losses was when they faced KKR at Eden Gardens. Ajinkya Rahane was elated after KKR’s victory against LSG.

Coming into the Ekana, Kolkata Knight Riders had a team in high morale as Ajinkya Rahane’s team had scored a convincing victory over Rajasthan Royals, as their bowlers dominated on a comparatively slower pitch, and Rinku Singh and Anukul Roy’s promising seventh-wicket partnership helped them complete their first chase of the season.

On the other hand, Lucknow Super Giants have found it difficult to win matches at their own home this season and have faced four consecutive defeats in the season. To bounce back, they, like KKR, also need to win at least five of their next games, while winning six could increase their chances of finishing in the top 4 positions.

Rinku Singh propels KKR to promising finish as they post fighting total

Another day and another batting collapse for the Kolkata Knight Riders. Coming out to bat first after Rishabh Pant managed to win the toss and opted to bowl first. With Ajinkya Rahane and Tim Seifert dismissed early by Mohsin Khan, they seemed to bounce back. Ajinkya Rahane scored 10 runs and struggled in the match.

However, Angkrish Raghuvanshi was dismissed unconventionally, causing another lull in play as he remained their fittest batsman. Cameron Green and Rinku Singh were looking to build a partnership but wickets kept falling from the other end.

Rinku Singh single-handedly took KKR’s innings to a respectable 155 at the end of those 20 overs as he finished with 83* off just 51 balls with seven fours and five sixes while hitting over 160.

Rinku Singh’s excellent effort in the field takes the game into the Super Overs

While at one point they looked completely timid to defend, the LSG batsmen made it easy for the KKR players after a spell. After the first 10 overs, despite losing just one wicket, Rishabh Pant and Aiden Markram managed to take the score to 63 runs.

With nearly 93 runs needed to score at a net run rate of 9.30 for the last 10 overs, the match became tougher with falling wickets. Once again, Rinku Singh turned the game on its head with the dismissal of Aiden Markram as he completed a stunning catch near the fence.

Wickets continued to fall as every player introduced into the attack continued to pick up wickets. Rinku took four catches during the innings, also including the dismissal of Himmat Singh in the final over off the bowling of Kartik Tyagi. Tyagi bowled two no balls in the final over. While he needed seven runs in the final over, the game fell into a super over after Mohammed Shami hit one out of the park.

The Super over led to a stunning effort from Sunil Narine, who dismissed Pooran and Markram from their first deliveries, thus ending his Super over in three balls. Rinku finished the game with a boundary as KKR needed 2 runs to win the match.

Really happy with the win – Ajinkya Rahane

Ajinkya Rahane, after KKR’s win, “Agreed. Really happy with the win. The way we played after 16 overs, Rinku’s innings was incredible. That last over and getting the momentum for our side was incredible,” Rahane seemed elated to avenge the win at Eden Gardens.

“We played SMAT here, and the wicket was similar, we thought 160-170 would be a good total. But the kind of bowling we did was incredible. It was about having that belief; a wicket here and there and the opponent comes back into the game. We had a lot of confidence in our spinners. We knew one wicket would change the game for us.”

Ajinkya Rahane further stated, “No, not really. Sunil Narine was the option, and hitting the spinners to the long boundary was not easy. Tyagi has been really good, Vaibhav too… All these Indians are doing well. But let’s not take the credit away from Rinku Singh.”

“You have to be in the moment; using the longer boundary is something we talked about and the boys have been practising. You have to be clear like a bowler,” Ajinkya Rahane credited his bowlers and Rinku Singh for his recent winning streak.

ALSO READ: ‘Need to take responsibility’: Rishabh Pant slams entire LSG team after super loss against KKR in IPL 2026