Kolkata, April 19 (IANS) Ajinkya Rahane endured another forgettable outing in IPL 2026, registering a two-ball duck and in the process becoming the player with the most ducks as an opener in the tournament’s history during Kolkata Knight Riders’ clash against Rajasthan Royals at Eden Gardens on Sunday.

Rahane’s dismissal came early in KKR’s chase of 156, when he fell in just the second over to Nandre Burger. Attempting to cut a short delivery outside off, Rahane was undone by extra bounce, edging the ball behind to Dhruv Jurel, who completed a straightforward catch. The early blow left KKR reeling at two wickets down within the first eight balls.

The dismissal marked Rahane’s second consecutive duck this season and his 12th as an opener in IPL history, pushing him past Parthiv Patel (11) to the top of an unwanted list. Notably, Rahane now sits ahead of names like Shikhar Dhawan, Gautam Gambhir and David Warner in this regard.

Rahane’s form this season has been inconsistent, with his scores reading 67, 8, 8*, 41, 28, 0 and 0. While he has shown glimpses of fluency, the lack of consistency at the top has hurt KKR’s starts.

Adding to the hosts’ woes, both KKR openers were dismissed for ducks in this match, a rare occurrence in IPL history. This is only the 13th instance of both openers falling without scoring in an innings and the first such case for KKR since Gautam Gambhir and Jacques Kallis suffered the same fate back in 2014. Tim Seifert and Rahane found their way back to the pavilion in the first and second overs of the chase, putting immediate pressure on the middle order.

Earlier, Rajasthan Royals posted 155/9 after being put in to bat, a total that looked well below par at one stage, given their strong start. Yashasvi Jaiswal (39) and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (46) stitched together an 81-run opening stand, laying a solid platform.

However, KKR’s spin duo of Varun Chakaravarthy (3/14) and Sunil Narine (2/26) triggered a dramatic collapse in the middle overs. Rajasthan lost wickets at regular intervals thereafter, including a three-wicket over from Kartik Tyagi, eventually managing just 155/9 after being 81/0 at one stage.

Despite restricting Rajasthan to a modest total, KKR’s chase got off to a disastrous start, once again highlighting their struggles this season. Still winless in the tournament so far, the Kolkata-based franchise will need a swift turnaround if they are to keep their playoff hopes alive.

–IANS

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