Top News

The IPL 2026 match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Punjab Kings at the Eden Gardens was abandoned as heavy rain on Monday forced the two teams to share points, failing to bring about a definitive result on yet another occasion as weather played spoilsport at the iconic venue.

Kolkata Knight Riders were teetering at 25/2 after 3.4 overs when play was interrupted owing to rain and eventually had to be called off after it had rained consistently for over two hours at the venue. A late cut-off of 11:14 PM could not save the game, as the outfield, although partially dried, was too damp to permit play. Consequently, both teams shared the points.

It started drizzling around 9 PM with strong winds that later turned into a thunderstorm which saw the Eden Gardens press box shake considerably at times. But the rain soon subsided to a drizzle around 10:30 PM with the ground staff swiftly removing the covers.

However, puddles along the boundary line and a damp outfield ultimately led the on-field umpires to abandon the match at 11 PM after inspection of the ground. The on-field umpires Abhijeet Bengeri and J Madanagopal together with CAB president Sourav Ganguly evaluated the conditions to finally make a call. Both team captains –Ajinkya Rahane and Shreyas Iyer– were also involved in the discussion.

Also Read | SRH Likely to Write to BCCI After Avesh Khan Incident in IPL 2026

Kolkata Knight Riders' skipper Ajinkya Rahane made a surprising choice to bat first after winning the toss. The decision backfired as the home side lost two early wickets. Punjab Kings' pace bowler Xavier Bartlett continued his good form in the IPL 2026 as he dismissed KKR opener Finn Allen (6) and one of the costliest buys in IPL history, Cameron Green (4) in the second over to have the Knights struggling for an answer at 25/2.

Arshdeep Singh had trouble Cameron Green in the opening over and this indicated an early dismissal would be in order and it was followed up by Bartlett at the end of second over. The duo of Ajinkya Rahane and Angkrish Raghuvanshi tried their best to consolidate after two wickets but with the continued downpour KKR were ultimately at the mercy of nature.

The abandoned match takes Punjab Kings to the top of the IPL 2026 points table with 5 points from 3 games whereas Kolkata Knight Riders register their first point of the season.