Finn Allen’s first IPL century powers KKR to 4th consecutive win as DC’s playoff hopes are effectively over

Kolkata Knight Riders have won four games in a row and the team that was sitting at the bottom of the table without a point for the first six games of IPL 2026 is now making a genuine case for a playoff spot.

At the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on May 8 they restricted Delhi Capitals to 142 for 8 with their spinners strangling the middle overs before Finn Allen walked in as Impact Player and scored a hundred off 47 balls to win the match with 34 balls to spare. The margin was eight wickets. DC captain Axar Patel after the game said his side would plan for next year. That is not something captains say when they still believe they are in the playoff race.

IPL 2026: DC restricted to 142 as KKR spinners apply a vice-like grip

KKR won the toss and chose to field. DC started brightly with Pathum Nissanka and KL Rahul putting on 49 for the first wicket inside five overs. Rahul scored 23 off 14 before Kartik Tyagi had him caught by Green. The collapse then began in stages.

Nitish Rana fell for 8, Sameer Rizvi for 3 and Tristan Stubbs for 2 in quick succession and DC lost four wickets for 40 runs between the fifth and eleventh overs to crash from 49 for 1 to 89 for 5. Nissanka was stumped off Anukul Roy for 50 off 29 balls and Axar Patel batted through the middle overs without scoring freely enough, contributing 11 off 22 balls. before being caught off Vaibhav Arora in the 18th over.

Ashutosh Sharma gave DC some late impetus with 39 off 28 balls including three fours and three sixes before Tyagi removed him in the 19th over. DC finished on 142 for 8 which on a pitch with genuine turn for the spinners felt competitive but ultimately proved 25 to 30 runs short.

The KKR bowling numbers tell the story. Three spinners combined for 3 for 76 from 12 overs at an economy of 6.33. Sunil Narine was the standout taking 1 for 17 from four overs with 14 dot balls. Kartik Tyagi took 2 for 25 and Anukul Roy took 2 for 31. Against DC’s spinners in the chase the economy rate was 10.97.

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IPL 2026: Finn Allen’s century and the chase that was never really a chase

KKR lost Ajinkya Rahane for 13 run out by Starc in the third over and Angkrish Raghuvanshi for 1 bowled by Axar in the next over. At 31 for 2 with DC’s spinners due to bowl the match had an opening. Allen and Cameron Green shut it down immediately.

Green batted with composure finishing unbeaten on 33 off 27 while Finn Allen did everything else. He survived the powerplay for the first time this season, reaching 20 off 17 at the six-over mark, before accelerating through the middle overs against DC’s spinners in a manner that suggested the turn assisting Narine and Roy earlier was simply not troubling him at all.

His strike rate against spin in the chase was 227. The next best among KKR batsmen was Rahane at 167 from three balls. Allen was operating at a different level from everyone else on the pitch.

He brought up his Fifty off 32 balls and his century off 47 with a six over deep midwicket off Mukesh Kumar that simultaneously won the match and completed the milestone. Green ran over and hugged him.

Allen removed his helmet and raised his bat. It was his first IPL hundred and he scored it chasing 143. There is something beautifully KKR about the fact that their most individual performance of the season came in a chase they could probably have completed with eight wickets to spare regardless.

DC’s spinners finished with 1 for 102 from nine overs. Vipraj Nigam was taken for 34 from two. Kuldeep had another difficult game going for 41 from three. Axar was the only competent bowling option from the DC spin department. Four consecutive wins for KKR. Four consecutive losses for DC and Axar is already talking about next year.