Ajinkya Rahane’s first run as Kolkata Knight Riders captain in IPL 2026 has been rough. Five matches in, and not a single win. It’s starting to feel like he can’t catch a break. Tuesday’s loss to Chennai Super Kings was just another punch, and to make matters worse, he got slapped with a Rs 12 lakh fine for not keeping up the over-rate. That’s the first time this season KKR has been penalized by the IPL Governing Council for breaking the Code of Conduct. Rahane and his team just couldn’t keep pace against Ruturaj Gaikwad’s Super Kings at Chepauk.
When it comes to the match itself, CSK’s spinner Noor Ahmad was on fire with three wickets for just 21 runs. Anshul Kamboj kept things rolling too, snagging two wickets for 32. Between them, they grabbed five wickets, helping CSK grab their second win of the season. Now they’re sitting at four points with five games played, eighth place out of ten, if you’re counting.
CSK put up a solid total — 192 for 5. KKR struggled right from the start. CSK struck early, stayed in control all the way, and kept KKR stuck at 160 for 7 after all 20 overs. Ramandeep Singh tried to push back, scoring a team-best 35, and Rovman Powell chipped in with an unbeaten 31 at the end, but it just wasn’t enough.
KKR even switched up their opening pair for this game. Sunil Narine took the first swing alongside Finn Allen, leaving Rahane out of the top slot. Narine seemed ready to go, knocking a couple of sixes early, but Allen didn’t last — Kamboj got him in the second over. Narine couldn’t keep his groove either and got caught by Khaleel Ahmed during the Power-play, leaving KKR trailing at 36 for 2, their weakest Power-play score since 2024.
Rahane and Angkrish Raghuvanshi tried to build things up for a bit, mixing boundaries and sixes to bump up the run rate. But honestly, the chase fizzled out. KKR couldn’t get anywhere near the target of 193. Allen and Cameron Green disappointed with the bat, and Rahane’s team ended the night stuck with another loss.
