IPL 2026: Ajinkya Rahane sets unwanted record, registers most ducks as opener

Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Ajinkya Rahane set an unwanted record in his side’s victory against the Rajasthan Royals at the Eden Gardens. 

Chasing a meagre 156 after brilliant bowling from the spinners Varun Chakravarthy and Sunil Narine, Rahane was dismissed for a two-ball duck, flapping at a Nandre Burger length delivery and nicking to Dhruv Jurel behind the stumps. With this, he now becomes the batter with the most ducks as an opener in the IPL.

Most ducks as an opener in IPL

Rahane has had a mixed season with the bat. He started the season with a 40-ball 67 against the Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium but has followed that up with four single-digit scores in six innings. He has scored 152 runs in the seven games at an average of 25.33. His captaincy decisions have also come under flak, with his rotation of bowlers being questioned.

The Knight Riders finally notched up their first win of IPL 2026 in their seventh game. The Royals, electing to bat, finished their innings on 155/9 despite a strong 81-run opening stand between their young openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. Varun Chakravarthy and Sunil Narine tightened the screws in the middle overs, the former finishing with figures of 3/14, as he looked like the bowler who has been a threat for India in this format. Narine finished with figures of 2/26, backing Varun up brilliantly.

The Knight Riders started their chase slowly and were reeling at 85/6 in the 14th over, when Rinku Singh, joined by Anukul Roy, took the Knight Riders home with an unbeaten 76-run stand off 37 balls. Rinku finished unbeaten on 53 off 34 balls, with Roy finishing on 29 off 16 balls.

The win took the Knight Riders to ninth place in the table with three points, leapfrogging the struggling Mumbai Indians.