New Delhi, May 14 (IANS) Former India batter Cheteshwar Pujara opined that Kolkata Knight Riders’s chances to qualify for the IPL 2026 playoffs are slim after their six-wicket defeat to Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Raipur, which marked their sixth loss of the season.

Despite posting a competitive 192/4 on the back of Angkrish Raghuvanshi’s fluent 71 and Rinku Singh’s unbeaten 49, KKR failed to contain Virat Kohli, who struck a sensational unbeaten 105 off 60 balls to steer RCB home with five deliveries remaining and take Bengaluru back to the top of the points table.

Assessing KKR’s position after the defeat, Pujara said the defending champions now have only a slim route to the knockout stage, though he stressed there was still value in finishing the campaign strongly.

“It’s a tough ask for KKR. I don’t think they will be qualifying for the playoffs. The chances are very slim. The way the season has gone for KKR, there’s still a lot to play for. It’s not just about reaching the playoffs. Obviously, when you are not in contention, you play for pride. The way the season started for KKR, it didn’t go their way, but now, they have made a comeback and they would want to finish on a high,” Pujara told JioStar.

KKR’s head coach Abhishek Nayar admitted after the match that failing to hold onto Kohli’s catch proved decisive, especially given the batter’s record while chasing targets.

“We all know that if you leave Virat Kohli’s catch, it will be difficult, especially when he is chasing, so there are a lot of things that could have been better. But when you are playing good cricket with a team like this, and Virat Kohli and (Devdutt) Padikkal are in good form, and you want to take their catches at that time, so it is unfortunate,” Nayar said in the post-match press conference.

Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar also highlighted the significance of the missed catch, saying teams simply cannot afford to hand lifelines to a batter of Kohli’s calibre.

“Before this RCB-KKR game, KKR’s efficiency with catches was still the best in the IPL this season, even after dropping a few catches. They were at the top of that table. But this one hurt badly. Rovman Powell, who has taken some stunning catches this season, was fielding inside the 30-yard circle. He had the chance to dismiss Virat Kohli early.

“He went up high, timed his jump well, but the ball slipped out. You cannot drop Kohli early in his innings. He will make you pay every single time. LSG learned that lesson the hard way. Give him an early lifeline, and he grabs it with both hands. He scored a hundred and made KKR regret that drop. That is what great players do. They don’t give you a second chance. They punish your mistakes and turn the game on its head,” Gavaskar said.

The loss put an end to KKR’s four-match unbeaten streak and further complicated their playoff equation, while RCB reclaimed the top spot in the points table with their eighth win of the season.

–IANS

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