Rain washes out KKR vs PBKS at Eden Gardens as Kolkata open their account in IPL 2026
Xavier Bartlett had given Punjab Kings an electric start before the skies opened over Kolkata. The Australian quick removed both Finn Allen and Cameron Green inside three balls, leaving KKR wobbling at 25 for 2 when heavy rain forced the players off the field for the final time.
Bartlett rocks KKR before the storm hits
Rahane won the toss and chose to bat, but things went wrong almost immediately. Bartlett's second over proved decisive. He had Allen caught by wicketkeeper Prabhsimran Singh first, then dismissed Green later in identical fashion as the ball moved away off a good length. At 25 for 2, KKR's top order was already in tatters.
Rahane (8 not out) and youngster Angkrish Raghuvanshi (7 not out) had barely started to steady things when a Kalbaisakhi storm rolled in from the west. The covers went on quickly, but puddles formed along the boundary edge and the umpires called the match off without another ball bowled.
A washout KKR will quietly accept
For a side that came into this game with two straight defeats, a shared point counts as progress. KKR lost to Mumbai Indians in their opening match before being hammered by 65 runs against Sunrisers Hyderabad at this same ground. One point at least gets them off the mark in IPL 2026, even if a win remains out of reach.
Punjab Kings will feel short-changed. Bartlett had them in a commanding position and Shreyas Iyer's team would have backed themselves to chase down whatever KKR scraped together. Instead, they leave Kolkata with a single point from a match they looked likely to win.
This is the second consecutive season that a KKR-PBKS fixture at Eden Gardens has been washed out. Kolkata's position near the Hooghly river makes the ground one of the IPL's most weather-exposed venues, and the Kalbaisakhi thunderstorms that sweep through Bengal in April are impossible to plan around.
Pressure builds on Rahane
Three matches into IPL 2026 and KKR still do not have a victory. Rahane's captaincy is under increasing scrutiny, with the team's bowling attack looking toothless after losing key pacers during the pre-season. The washout delays the reckoning, but it does not remove it. KKR need wins, and they need them soon.
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