IPL 2026: Ajinkya Rahane's duck tale gets longer, KKR captain tops unwanted list as poor form continues

Ajinkya Rahane recorded a second straight duck as Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain fell for a two-ball zero against Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2026 at Eden Gardens on Sunday, setting an unwanted record in the process.

Chasing 156, Rahane was dismissed in the second over by Nandre Burger, adding to his struggles this season. He had also been out for a golden duck in KKR’s previous match against Gujarat Titans.

With this, Rahane now has 12 ducks as an opener in the IPL, the most by any player in that role.

Most ducks as an opener in IPL

• 12 – Ajinkya Rahane*
• 11 – Parthiv Patel
• 10 – Shikhar Dhawan
• 10 – Gautam Gambhir
• 9 – David Warner

Ajinkya Rahane in IPL 2026

• 67 (40) vs MI
• 8 (10) vs SRH
• 8* (6) vs PBKS
• 41 (24) vs LSG
• 28 (22) vs CSK
• 0 (1) vs GT
• 0 (2) vs RR

Rahane’s opening partner Tim Seifert was also dismissed for a golden duck, bowled by Jofra Archer.

Both KKR openers dismissed for a duck

• Gambhir & Kallis vs DD, Dubai, 2014
• Seifert & Rahane vs RR, Kolkata, 2026*

Earlier, after winning the toss, Rajasthan Royals chose to bat. Varun Chakravarthy and Sunil Narine combined to take five wickets and restricted RR to 155 for nine.

It could have been worse for RR had KKR not conceded ground in the power play.

Rajasthan made a strong start, reaching 63 without loss as Yashasvi Jaiswal and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi scored at over 10 runs per over against the pace attack.

The match changed after spin was introduced. Sooryavanshi hit Narine for a six off his second ball, but Narine followed it with five dot deliveries. Chakravarthy then dismissed Sooryavanshi with his fourth ball, completing his 200th T20 wicket. The batter was caught by Ramandeep Singh at deep midwicket.

Rajasthan Royals slipped from a strong position to 118 for four in 15 overs, with the run rate dropping below eight.