KKR vs GT, IPL 2026: Kolkata win by 29 runs, Gujarat yet to qualify for playoffs

The match ends with a fifty for Sai Su. He pulls one-handed, and Cam Green is hit for a six over mid wicket. This innings shows, again, that the southpaw batter can hit sixes when needed. Notheless, KKR win by 29 runs. Green gets the wicket of Tewatia on the last delivery.

Sudharsan tries his best to get to the finish line, but the ask is too steep. One wonders if Washington Sundar should have been sent here? Two overs remain now as the over ends with a six, 45 needed from 2 overs.

Sunil Narine has picked up the key wicket here. Bowls one on legs, and Gill sweeps towards the mid-wicket boundary. Anukul Roy takes an exceptional catch on the boundary. Washi, the retired hurt batter is back.

Kartik Tyagi starts a fresh over and he has been hit for a six and four in the first two deliveries. This is very chaseable. Buttler gets 50 in 32 deliveries.

Apologies for the late update. There were some techincal issues, which have been rectified now. Picking up from where we left; GT need 85 from the last 30 deliveries. Gill and Buttler still at the crease.

This is a double blow for GT, as Nishant Sindhu is caught out on the very first delivery of Sunil Narine. He tries to go over the top of long off, but is caught well by Manish pandey.

Pathirana comes up with his very first over in IPL 2026. And it is a good one to start with. Just 7 runs come here, against the run of play. Gill and Sudharsan cannot take their foot off the pedal. Oh, Sai is dealing with a left elbow niggle and is out. Nishant Sindhu comes out to bat.

Three overs have gone here, and contrary to the expectations, GT have started at a brisk pace. It is Sai Su, who is dealing in boundaries as the moment. In fact, he pulls Kartik Tyagi for a six.

This has been an exceptional performance by KKR. After Allen scored a massive 93 from 35, the attack did not die down. In fact, Cam Green (52), and Angrish Raghuvanshi (82), added 108 runs in only 52 deliveries to take the side to 247/2.

GT drop their third catch of the night as Arshad Khan drops Cameron Green on 27 runs. What's worse is that the delivery goes for a four and the next ball goes for a six! Hasn't been the perfect night for GT.

Cameron Green and Angkrish Raghuvanshi continue to punish the GT bowlers as Sai Kishore goes for 17 runs in his last over. KKR are nearing the 200-run mark.

Kolkata Knight Riders go past the 150-run mark in the 13th over as Finn Allen's departure hasn't slowed down KKR. They are still dealing in boundaries.

• 4 - Chris Gayle
• 2 - Abhishek Sharma
• 2 - Vaibhav Sooryavanshi
• 2 - Finn Allen*

Finn Allen's whirlwind knock of 93 runs from 35 balls comes to an end as he gets caught out by Rashid Khan off Sai Kishore. A good catch taken by the Afghanistan star. Green replaces him out in the middle. Finally, GT get the much-needed breakthrough.

Clean hitting at a strike rate of 265.7 🤯

Finn Allen leaves us all awestruck with his 93 (35) 👏💜

Updates ▶️ https://t.co/m8jevRTt29#TATAIPL | #KhelBindaas | #KKRvGT pic.twitter.com/gGNeJpXZF3

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 16, 2026

Sai Kishore's first over doesn't go as planned as he too turns out to be expensive. At the end of 10 overs, Allen and Raghuvanshi have powered KKR to 116 runs.

KKR have gone past the 100-run mark in the 9th over as Finn Allen continues to deal in boundaries and sixes. His partnership with Angkrish Raghuvanshi is now worth 56 runs. Pressure on GT.

Finn Allen makes GT pay by getting a 21-ball fifty after he is dropped twice. He punishes Rashid Khan with two back-to-back sixes and then a four to get to his fifty.

21-ball FIFTY! 🤩

Finn Allen in full flow at Eden Gardens tonight 💜

Updates ▶️ https://t.co/m8jevRTt29#TATAIPL | #KhelBindaas | #KKRvGT pic.twitter.com/pycsFYVDmk

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 16, 2026

Finn Allen is dropped on 33 runs by Mohammed Siraj as the GT bowler drops a sitter near the boundary ropes. How costly will this prove to be for the visitors? Mind you, this is the second time he has been dropped tonight.

Angkrish Raghuvanshi gets trapped for an LBW and the on-field umpire adjudges it not out. GT take a review. Ball-tracking shows the delivery going on to hit the wicket, but it is adjudged umpire's call. Therefore, the KKR batter survives and GT retain the review. At the end of the powerplay, KKR reach 56/1.

KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane is castled by Mohammed Siraj as GT get their first breakthrough. This is the 200th T20 wicket for the pacer. Rahane departs after scoring just 14 runs from as many deliveries.

After staying quiet in the first three overs, Finn Allen fires two back-to-back sixes off Kagiso Rabada to get going. He has raced to 29 runs off 12 balls. The GT pacer concedes 14 runs in that over.

Finn Allen scores his first couple of boundaries, and they come in Mohammed Siraj's 2nd over. The GT pace spearhead concedes 12 runs from the over. Meanwhile, Allen is dropped by Jason Holder off the final delivery of the over. It was a tough chance for the fielder.

While Shubman Gill told Ravi Shastri at the toss that there were no changes to GT's playing XI, it appears to there is as Sai Kishore is included in the playing XI.

Mohammed Siraj bowls a good first over as he concedes no boundaries. KKR reach 5/0 at the end of over 1.

Former KKR captain Eoin Morgan is given the honour of ringing the bell at the iconic Eden Gardens, signalling the start of the KKR vs GT contest. Rahane and Allen walk out to the middle. Siraj to start with the new ball for GT. Right, KKR eye a strong start in the powerplay.

Sunil Narine is the first overseas and overall 13th player to feature in the 200 IPL matches as he is all set to take part in the KKR vs GT contest in Kolkata. 

First overseas player to reach 2️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ TATA IPL games 💜✨

Take a bow, Sunil Narine 🐐🙌 pic.twitter.com/ny1GPPCsr0

— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) May 16, 2026

Kolkata Knight Riders will be playing their 100th IPL game at the iconic Eden Gardens Stadium. The teams will be playing on pitch number 6. In a short while, Ajinkya Rahane and Finn Allen will walk out to commence the proceedings for the hosts and will be eyeing a strong start.

"I have enjoyed it a lot (getting a leadership role), and now I’m enjoying batting too. The mindset is to take the innings a little deeper, take the game further, and in the end like I do, I hit in the last two overs, so that is working well for me and also for the team. No, the preparation remains the same. I play at number five or six, so I prepare accordingly," KKR vice-captain Rinku Singh said before the game against GT. 

KKR: Rovman Powell, Ramandeep Singh, Tejasvi Dahiya, Matheesha Pathirana, Vaibhav Arora
GT: Prasidh Krishna, Rahul Tewatia, Anuj Rawat, Kumar Kushagra, Glenn Phillips

Ajinkya Rahane(c), Finn Allen, Angkrish Raghuvanshi(w), Cameron Green, Manish Pandey, Rinku Singh, Sunil Narine, Anukul Roy, Varun Chakaravarthy, Saurabh Dubey, Kartik Tyagi

GT captain Shubman Gill feels that with a little rain on the day before the fame, the team will be better off chasing a target at the Eden Gardens. "We are gonna bowl first. There was a little bit of rain yesterday. We are hoping that it'll get better in the second innings. Our bowling unit has been top-notch. The momentum is with us. This is not the time to take any team lightly. You get one extra match if you finish in the top-two. Same team," Gill said. 

KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane also wanted to bowl first. "Taking one game at a time. We have to win three games and see what happens. We've been playing really good cricket, the last five games. We were looking to field as well. There's a little bit of moisture," the KKR captain said. 

GT have decided to stick with an unchanged playing XI for the game in Kolkata. KKR make one change, Varun Chakravarthy returns to the playing XI as captain Ajinkya Rahane confirms that he is fit. 

Gujarat Titans captain Shubman Gill wins the toss and opts to bat first against Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens.

🚨Toss update from Kolkata 🚨@gujarat_titans won the toss and elected to bowl first against @kkriders

Updates ▶️ https://t.co/m8jevRTt29#TATAIPL | #KhelBindaas | #KKRvGT pic.twitter.com/frBgC5n6vs

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 16, 2026

Rashid Khan has been a consistent wicket-taking threat against Kolkata Knight Riders in recent seasons. Across 20 overs, he has picked up 8 wickets at a strong strike rate of 15, showing his ability to strike regularly in the middle overs. While his economy rate of 9.10 is slightly on the higher side, it reflects his attacking role where he looks to break partnerships rather than purely contain runs.
Sunil Narine has delivered solid performances against Gujarat Titans, providing control and occasional breakthroughs. In 19 overs, he has taken 5 wickets with a respectable economy rate of 8.0 and a strike rate of 22.8. While not as prolific in terms of wickets as Rashid, Narine’s strength lies in building sustained pressure through tight bowling.

Backed by a 54.9% win probability and a five-match winning streak, Gujarat Titans are the favorites to win today’s match and secure their spot in the IPL 2026 playoffs. Check out the complete match prediction for the KKR vs GT match here. 

Kolkata Knight Riders have had an inconsistent season. After a winless run of six matches, KKR pulled off four consecutive wins before losing to RCB by a big margin. Now, they are in a desperate situation in playoff race. 

They sit eighth with nine points from 11 matches, and the road to the top four now requires winning all three remaining home games and hoping other results break their way. KKR have won just one of three completed home games this season. 

Ajinkya Rahane has been the biggest individual disappointment: two ducks, two single-digit scores, and only four innings above 20 in 11 games. For KKR to beat GT tonight, they need Rahane, Finn Allen and Cameron Green to give the innings a base the middle order can work from.

After just three wins from the first seven matches, Gujarat Titans have turned things around and they could be the first team to seal an IPL 2026 Playoff spot. GT have won five consecutive matches and are the in-form team. 

Washington Sundar steadied a middle order that was their biggest worry in the first half. He has 296 runs in 12 innings at a strike rate of 152.57, easily his best IPL season with the bat. He's also hit 121 runs in death overs, striking at 180.59 between overs 17 and 20. 

The bowling has been just as good. GT have taken the most powerplay wickets of any team this season with 25, and Kagiso Rabada leads the chart in that phase with 16. Jason Holder has an economy rate of 5.1 at the death. With all the boxes ticked, GT are the team to beat now.

With short boundaries, quick outfield and a good batting surface, Eden Gardens is the dream for batters. And even when the Eden Gardens throw up tacky, two-paced surfaces, chasing teams get an advantage. 66% of the teams opt to chase in Kolkata and they are right about it. 55% of the teams chasing win at this venue. So, toss could be crucial again and if Gujarat Titans win the toss and opt to chase, they have the batting depth to win the match. As for Kolkata, they would want to chase with so many power-hitters.

Eighth with nine points, needing three wins from three remaining games and a specific set of results elsewhere to reach the top four. A loss tonight doesn't mathematically eliminate them, but they'd be entirely dependent on other results. Lose this, and it's realistically done. The one thing working for them: all three remaining games are at home. Eden Gardens under lights is not the worst place to make a last stand.

Second on 16 points from 12 games. Win tonight and they're officially in the playoffs. A top-two finish, which would give them a second chance through Qualifier 1, becomes a real possibility. For a Top-2 finish, KKR will need to win both their last two games. However, if they lose today, they will still have a shot at qualification.

Temperatures on Saturday are expected to be in the lower to mid-30s Celsius. There is a chance of rain in the evening, but current forecasts suggest a full game at Eden Gardens is likely. Friday's heavy rain has cleared the air. Conditions will be warm and humid. No washout expected, though the outfield may still be damp early from the previous night.

One of the fastest outfields in India, and captains almost always choose to chase here. The pitch on the eve of the match looked flat and grassy, which means true bounce from ball one. A heavy spell of rain hit Kolkata on Friday evening, so there may be some residual moisture early, but the surface should settle into its usual batting-friendly character once the game gets going.

Spinners can grip in the middle overs. Rashid and Washington Sundar have been GT's most effective operators in that phase all season. Narine and Chakravarthy, if he's fit and plays, offer KKR their best chance of keeping GT under a chaseable total. The powerplay is where this game will be shaped. GT bowl it better than almost anyone. KKR have struggled to handle that phase with the bat all season.

GT have dominated this fixture from the start. Four wins from six IPL meetings, KKR with one, one no result. GT also won their earlier meeting this season, so KKR are trying to beat a side they haven't got the better of since 2023.