Wednesday was a forgettable outing for KKR, as they went on to lose to hosts RCB by 7 wickets in Raipur. Despite scoring 192 in the first innings, Kolkata could not wither Virat Kohli storm, and succumbed to their first defeat in five matches. And given the magnitude of this loss for KKR, this will have some serious implications on their IPL 2026 playoffs chances.
One key factor in this encounter was, the absence of Varun Chakravarthy, who was not only picking wickets for them, but also was bowling economically, and formed a potent partnership with Sunil Narine. Nonetheless, the Ajinkya Rahane-led side still stays in 8th position in the IPL 2026 points table, with a 0.2% chance of qualifying.
Can KKR still qualify for IPL 2026 playoffs?
The answer is a big no. Although, mathematically they are still not out, and have three matches to go, but the chances are as slim as they get. They had to, had to win their remaining matches, which they could not. Now, not only they have to win all their encounters by very big margins, but also hope that teams like SRH, PBKS, CSK, RR and DC don’t win at all. Impossible, one should concede.
If they win 3 matches: Hope against hope, if they win all three, and get to 15 points, they should have a sound NRR too. Then a lot of permutation will come into play, who beats who…
If they win 2 matches: Forget about it. The long and short of it is, they can’t proceed to the next round.
RCB vs KKR, as it happened
After a delayed start due to rain, Kolkata batted well, in what was initially thought, would be a difficult pitch. Angkrish Raghuvanshi came up with an excellent innings of 71 from 46, while Rinku Singh scored 49 from 29, to take the side to close to 200. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood and Rasikh Salam Dar — all had their economies under 9.
Come the chase, Virat Kohli dominated right from the start and slammed yet another ton in the IPL — ended with 105. The only other substantial score came from Devdutt Padikkal, who scored 39.
KKR remaining IPL 2026 fixtures
| Date | Match | Venue | Time (IST) |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 16, 2026 | KKR vs GT | Kolkata | 7:30 PM |
| May 20, 2026 | KKR vs MI | Kolkata | 7:30 PM |
| May 24, 2026 | KKR vs DC | Kolkata | 7:30 PM |
IPL 2026 points table after RCB vs KKR match
| Pos | Team | P | W | L | NR | Pts | NRR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) | 12 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 16 | +1.053 |
| 2 | Gujarat Titans (GT) | 12 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 16 | +0.551 |
| 3 | Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) | 12 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 14 | +0.331 |
| 4 | Punjab Kings (PBKS) | 11 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 13 | +0.428 |
| 5 | Chennai Super Kings (CSK) | 11 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 12 | +0.185 |
| 6 | Rajasthan Royals (RR) | 11 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 12 | +0.082 |
| 7 | Delhi Capitals (DC) | 12 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 10 | -0.993 |
| 8 | Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) | 11 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 9 | -0.198 |
| 9 | Mumbai Indians (MI) (E) | 11 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 6 | -0.585 |
| 10 | Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) (E) | 11 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 6 | -0.907 |
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