New Delhi: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain Ajinkya Rahane has set an unwanted all-time record in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, having scored his second consecutive duck in the tournament. Rahane was dismissed by Nandre Burger in the second over during KKR’s chase of a 156-run target.
Facing his second delivery, which was a short ball outside off, Rahane attempted a cut and edged it to the wicketkeeper, Dhruv Jurel. This followed Tim Seifert’s dismissal for a duck in the first over, leaving KKR in early trouble. Prior to this match, Rahane had registered a golden duck in KKR’s previous game against the Gujarat Titans, falling to Mohammed Siraj.
With this latest duck, Rahane now holds the record for the most ducks by an opener in IPL history, reaching a total of 12 ducks at the top of the order. Previously tied with Parthiv Patel at 11 ducks, Rahane has surpassed him.
Most Ducks as an Opener in IPL:
- 12 – Ajinkya Rahane
- 11 – Parthiv Patel
- 10 – Shikhar Dhawan
- 10 – Gautam Gambhir
- 9 – David Warner
Rahane-Seifert Ducks Create Unique Record for KKR
Before Rahane’s dismissal, Seifert was out for a golden duck on the first ball of the innings, bowled by Jofra Archer. This marks the second occasion in IPL history that both KKR openers were dismissed for ducks; the previous occurrence was in 2014 involving Gautam Gambhir and Jacques Kallis.
KKR Restricts Rajasthan Royals to 155/9
In the same match, the KKR spin duo of Varun Chakaravarthy and Sunil Narine delivered a stellar performance, limiting the Rajasthan Royals (RR) to 155 for 9. After being put into bat, Yashasvi Jaiswal (39) and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (46) opened strongly, taking RR to 81 without loss in just 8.3 overs. However, Chakaravarthy (3/14) and Narine (2/26) applied pressure, reducing the RR to 124 for 5 by the 16th over.
Shimron Hetmyer (15) and Riyan Parag (12) got starts but could not build on them, while Kartik Tyagi (3/22) chipped in with late wickets. Rajasthan Royals struggled to regain momentum during the middle overs, finishing with a below-par total.
