Finn Allen sets tone with 24 runs in first over against David Payne

Finn Allen started Kolkata Knight Riders' (KKR) run chase against the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) with a bang, with 4, 4, 6, 6, 4. In the first over of the second innings, the New Zealand batter took away 25 runs from the over off David Payne.

For chasing a massive target of 227, KKR needed a solid start from their opening pair. Allen and their captain, Ajinkya Rahane, both played good knocks in the first match of the ongoing IPL 2026 season against the Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium.

25 runs came from the 1st over, credit to Finn Allen

In their first home match, at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, expectations were high for them. It is the same ground where the New Zealand batter recorded a 33-ball century for his nation in the T20 World Cup 2026. As soon as Finn Allen entered the pitch, he throttled to drive at maximum pace.

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In the way Finn Allen started his batting, he couldn't transform it into a big score. He faced only 7 balls before losing his scalp. The kiwi batter scored 28 runs with a strike rate of 400.00. Before facing the seventh ball, he dealt only with boundaries in the previous six deliveries he faced including four 4s and a couple of 6s.

Watch the amezing hitting skills for Finn Allen here:

Finn knows only one gear - the 🔝 one!pic.twitter.com/CEMVWRswAw

— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) April 2, 2026

Kolkata Knight Riders faced a batting collapse at their home ground in Kolkata

The Sunrisers Hyderabad camp took a breath of relief as soon as Harsh Dubey caught his fan. Allen was dismissed for a caught and bowled. Dubey completed a brilliant catch on his own bowling.

The departure of Finn Allen initiated a batting collapse. Apart from the emerging keeper-batter Angkrish Raghuvanshi, most of the middle-order batters failed to perform big knocks, which KKR needed the most. The highly expensive Australian star, Cameron Green, disappointed the team and the fans again as he was dismissed after scoring only 2 runs in 2 balls.

Sunrisers Hyderabad is on the way to confirm their first win of the ongoing IPL 2026 season

Rinku Singh, who single-handedly gifted wins to the KKR in the past, headed back to the dugout after securing 35 runs with his name. KKR skipper Ajinkya Rahane also felt cheaply, dismissed for 8. Another emerging talent of the team, Anukul Roy, who played some brilliant knocks for the Jharkhand cricket team in the recent past, was dismissed for a duck.

Kolkata Knight Riders are in front of their second straight defeat, and the Sunrisers Hyderabad are looking strong enough to claim their first win of the season. Sunil Narine, who played many matches for the Kolkata Knight Riders as an opener, brought some hope for the team by smashing multiple boundaries, but like most of his teammates, he too was dispatched shortly after facing only 4 balls.

Read More: Manish Pandey and Anukul Roy recreate Pakistan’s viral drop moment in IPL 2026