The 12th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 between Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Punjab Kings (PBKS) at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata was abandoned due to rain on Monday.
After opting to bat first in overcast conditions, KKR were struggling at 25/2 in 3.4 overs when a steady drizzle that later turned into a thunderstorm came down pouring at the venue.
Xavier Bartlett struck twice in three balls, shocking KKR, who were looking for their first victory of the year.
The Australian pacer eliminated KKR’s two top foreign signings, Finn Allen (6) and Cameron Green (4), who had been elevated to No. 3, with deft control of swing and seam.
After managing scores of 18 (against Mumbai Indians) and 2 (against Sunrisers Hyderabad), Green, the highest-paid foreign player at Rs 25.20 crore, continued his poor performance as KKR faltered after losing their first two games.
Young wicketkeeper-batter Angkrish Raghuvanshi (7), who has been KKR’s most reliable player this season with consecutive fifties, and captain Ajinkya Rahane (8) were hoping to rebuild when the umpires had to stop play at 7:45 pm due to heavy drizzle.
The groundstaff quickly covered the entire field since Eden Gardens had full ground covers. There was a little respite when the covers started to come off, but the rain came back along with lightning and thunderstorms, frustrating spectators as they began to leave.
There were only 29,358 spectators at the game, which may have been caused by the fact that it was a Monday match and the bad weather.
Bollywood superstar and KKR co-owner Shah Rukh Khan witnessed all of this while making his first appearance of the season on a rainy night.
The match was finally called off 10:59 pm and both the teams were awarded a point each.
