The 12th match of IPL 2026 between Kolkata Knight Riders and Punjab Kings at Eden Gardens in Kolkata didn’t go as planned, as rain interrupted play early in the game.
KKR had just started their innings when things went wrong. They lost two quick wickets inside 3.4 overs, and soon after that, the rain stopped the match. At that point, KKR were 25/2.
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What is the cut-off time?
The rain began around 7:51 PM IST. For the match to go ahead as a full 20-over contest, play needs to restart by 8:30 PM IST. If there is any further delay beyond that, the number of overs will start to be reduced.
What about a 5-over match?
For a minimum 5-over-a-side game to happen, play must begin by 10:56 PM IST. If it doesn’t resume even by then, the match will be called off. Since there is no reserve day for this fixture, both teams will get one point each if that happens.
Big setback for KKR’s spin attack
This game is also notable because KKR are playing without both Sunil Narine and Varun Chakaravarthy. It’s the first time since 2019 that both of them are missing from the playing XI together.
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Their absence weakens KKR’s bowling, especially in the spin department. That could give Punjab’s batters a good chance to score freely. For KKR, putting up a big total becomes even more important now, otherwise, winning their third match of the season could be a tough ask.
KKR vs PBKS playing XIs
Punjab Kings: Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Cooper Connolly, Shreyas Iyer (c), Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Marco Jansen, Xavier Bartlett, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal.
Kolkata Knight Riders: Finn Allen, Ajinkya Rahane (c), Cameron Green, Angkrish Raghuvanshi (wk), Rovman Powell, Rinku Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Anukul Roy, Navdeep Saini, Vaibhav Arora, Kartik Tyagi.