Lucknow Super Giants vs Kolkata Knight Riders, 38th Match, Indian Premier League 2026 - CommentaryLSG vs KKR, 38th Match, Indian Premier League 2026 - Commentary

LSG have lost 5 in a row and sink to the last spot on the table. Twice in two games they have failed to chase a chaseable score. But it was Rinku's night and he could do no wrong. First Super Over this season and the crowd at the Ekana had their money's worth. A fantastic end to Sunday's double-header. It's time to sign off for the night. This is Nikhil Jadhav signing off on behalf of Akshay Maanay and the legend who's on scoring - Sreenivas Varala. Bye bye.

Rinku Singh | Player of the Match (translated from Hindi): (should we change your name to Rinku Sankatmochan) No, Rinku is fine. (mindset in tough situations) Whenever I go in to bat and the team has already lost 3-4 wickets, my focus is on how to control and take the game forward. I think about how to rotate strike - get singles and doubles - and where I can find boundaries. My main aim is always to take the game till the end. (plan tonight?) The plan was simple: since wickets had fallen, I focused on playing safe, building the innings with singles/doubles, and hitting a boundary whenever I got a bad ball. (on planning for the end overs) There wasn’t any fixed plan like saving shots for the last overs. I just reacted to the situation. Later I realized a spinner was bowling, so I adjusted accordingly. (on his fielding) I’ve always loved fielding since childhood. I’m naturally fit, so I can run fast and cover the ground well. I just enjoy fielding a lot. (were you ready for the Super Over catch?) Honestly, I was not ready for that catch. I thought the ball would go somewhere else, but suddenly it came towards me and I managed to catch it.

Ajinkya Rahane | KKR captain: (how's the heart-rate?) "Settled. Really happy with the victory, no especially the way we played after those 16 overs when we were batting, Rinku's innings turned everything. I mean, taking the game deep initially, we were thinking a lot, what's happening, but I thought, credit goes to Rinku Singh. Amazing knock, that last over scoring those runs and then getting the momentum towards us was something fantastic. (this is a low-scoring venue) Yes, I mean, we played Mushtaq Ali here and the soil which we played tonight was similar to Mushtaq Ali. So we thought when we were batting 160, 170 on this wicket will be a very good total. But I thought powerplay was really bad for us as a batting unit. That's where we need to work as a batting unit, powerplay and the middle overs. But I think the kind of bowling we bowled, bowlers, how they did was amazing. Defending 156 on this wicket, if you have a good powerplay and your bowling unit has been doing really well last three, four games, so really happy for them. (message to the team before the chase) It was always about having that belief. The game is not over till it's over. You know, one wicket here and there and, you know, fielding team is always in the game. It was not easy to chase down the target. We know even if they have a good powerplay, the middle overs, with Sunil and Varun Chakaravarthy, don't forget Anukul Roy is also bowling really well. So we were really confident about that and then we thought, no, one wicket, even if they had a good partnership, one wicket will change the game for us. And that's what happened exactly. (any other choices for the Super Over?) No, not really. I mean, Sunil Narine was the option. He's been bowling fantastic and I thought hitting spinners towards the longer boundary was a challenge and it's never easy. But I would like to mention another couple of our fast bowlers. Kartik Tyagi has been fantastic, you know, that last over, tough over, but he's been really good. What I liked about him is confidence, his clarity, what he wanted to bowl, Vaibhav as well, coming off really well. Anukul Roy bowling the powerplay over and also in the middle over. So all the youngsters, all these Indian guys are doing fantastically and I'm really happy for them. But let's not take credit away from Rinku Singh. The kind of inning which he has played, this one and even in the last game was amazing. (tactically challenging tonight?) Yes, it is, but see you've got to be in the moment what is happening around during that time and then see who is batting, what kind of run-rate they require. So using the longer boundary is always a good option when you're playing here. One side was 77, another was 69, 70. So using the longer boundary was something we spoke about and guys have been practicing about that. So it's always about being clear on your run-up, being clear what you want to execute. If it doesn't work, that doesn't work. But as long as you're clear as a bowler, that's really important."

Sunil Narine: (enjoy bowling super overs?) "I think you have no other choice. I think when you're bowling, you have the opportunity to do it. It's always a tough situation, I think, but I think it's a bit easier when you bowl the Super Over first. (tell us about your celebrations?) No, I think cricket is hard enough to be thinking about celebration. I think when you think about the batters and what you have to do in the game, I think celebration is the least of my worries. (is that one of the best balls (the Pooran one in the Super Over) you've ever bowled?) It's up there. I think, obviously, the situation makes it a bit better. But in saying that, genuinely happy for the team. I think we have been struggling and you need games like this to try to get momentum. I know it's gonna be tough, but I think once you try to take it game by game, we'll be in a good end. (thoughts about Tyagi's 20th over) I think it's always tough, and I mean this, I think no matter how senior you are, how junior you are, bowling a last over, to defend, no matter who you bowl to, it's gonna be tough. And I think he has been bowling well the entire season. I mean, you can't fault him for those things. Things like that happen, but obviously it's a learning curve, and every mistake is something you look forward to to try to correct it. (I guess it was symbolic that you bowled the Super Over?) I think the entire team backed me, so I think once everyone said the same thing, it was pretty easy and obviously, as I said, bowling first, you could relax a little more even though it's not much relaxing place to be. (who made the decision for you to bowl?) I think all the coaches, staff said, Sunny, you're gonna bowl it, and I just said, okay, that's no problem."

Rishabh Pant: (your thoughts?) "See, I think we definitely need a break. I think we're gonna refresh, there is always pressure and it's gonna be pressure game always, but at the same time, we have to look answers inside, not outside. And just keep it simple man. Just take accountability, each and every guy. Like, it can't be about one or two guys. It has to be about the whole unit and a lot of people will take accountability for that for sure. (Pooran is out of form, what was the thought process behind sending him?) We had a discussion as a group, we had a discussion and the name came up was Nicky P. He might not go through the best form of his life, but at the same time, you gotta trust your player in a hard situation like this. They're gonna come off nicely. So, no excuses there. Just looking at the positive, there might not be enough positive right now, but I think after the break, there will be a lot of enough positive for sure. (thoughts behind bowling Digvesh Rathi for the last over?) See, there are always time in cricket where you can turn a little bit of bowling at the same time. But sometimes bowlers got to bowl that hard overs. And there will be time when I have to give him that in middle overs because I was looking for a wicket. I just didn't get one. That was the thought process behind it. And too many minds doesn't make it easy on the ground."

Stats by Shashikant Singh

- This is is the fifth tied game for KKR in IPL and first for LSG.
- Second instance of a last-ball six to tie a game in the IPL. Previous: Manish Pandey (SRH) off Hardik Pandya (MI) at Wankhede in 2019. (MI won the Super Over)
- KKR have featured in five tied games, won the Super Over twice, including the last one against SRH at Abu Dhabi in 2020.

Most successive losses at home venue in IPL 
9 - DD at Delhi (2013-15)
8 - Deccan at Hyderabad (2008-11)
8* - LSG at Lucknow (2025-26)
7 - Deccan at Hyderabad (2011-12)
7 - PWI India at Pune (2012-13)

- Five successive loses is LSG’s longest losing streak in IPL.

LSG in the IPL
Batting first: 36 matches, 20 wins, 15 defeats, 1 NR, Win%: 57.14
Batting second: 30 matches, 12 wins, 18 defeats, Win%: 40.0
*Including super over results  

Four field catches for KKR in an IPL innings
4 - Jacques Kallis vs Deccan, Kolkata, 2011
4 - Rinku Singh vs GT, DY Patil, 2022
4 - Rinku Singh vs LSG, Lucknow, 2026*

Narine bowling in Super Over in T20s
Overs: 4.2 
Conceded: 25 
Wickets: 6
ER: 5.77

Pooran’s batting in Super Over in T20s
0 (5)
0 (1)
0 (1)
1 (2)
0 (1)
– 1 run off 10 balls, five dismissals

Players with 50+ runs and 4+ field catches in an IPL match 
(53 runs, 4 ct) - Jacques Kallis (KKR) vs Deccan, Kolkata, 2011
(56* runs, 4 ct) - Riyan Parag (RR) vs RCB, Pune, 2022
(52 runs, 5 ct) - Daryl Mitchell (CSK) vs SRH, Chennai, 2024
(83* runs, 4 ct) - Rinku Singh (KKR) vs LSG, Lucknow, 2026*

1 run is the lowest Super Over score in the IPL, bettering 2 runs by PBKS vs DC at Dubai in 2020.

23:48 Local Time, 18:18 GMT, 23:48 IST: Hugs from Pant to Rinku. What a game Rinku has had. Struck four sixes in the last over and made his highest T20 score to help KKR get 155. Which gave his team a chance to bowl at something. Then takes 4 catches in the outfield in the main game. Shows emotion and frustration when Tyagi fails to nail the stuff in the last over. Come the Super Over, he takes Markram's catch and comes out to open and finishes the game off with a boundary. That's a game to remember. The celebrations at the end showed what it meant for Rinku. He punched the air in delight as did Powell. Rinku the star for KKR and his outstanding individual contribution has paved a fine win for KKR. In the main game, Marsh went early, as did Pooran but Markram and Pant strung a stand. After that the wickets fell and KKR were ahead. The spinners did their job for KKR and it looked like they would win. 17 were needed off the last over and Tyagi missed his yorkers to give away no-balls and Shami hit a slot ball for six off the last ball of the game to take it to a Super Over. Narine then came to the party in the Super Over and the meagre target was chased by Rinku off the very first ball. Phew. A game that had it all and fittingly it went to a Super Over. Stay tuned for the post-match stuff...

Ball 1: Prince Yadav to Rinku Singh, FOUR, KKR win the Super Over. Rinku has finished it off first ball. He's relieved now and even sports a smile on his face. He has been frustrated and angry since Tyagi bowled that last over, but now he is relaxed and is shaking hands with the LSG players. Prince went for the wide yorker, but does not quite nail it, Rinku opens the bat face and squeezes it square on the off-side. The fielder at sweeper was well in and had no chance of stopping the ball from reaching the fence. KKR - 4/0

Rinku the man with a helmet on and bat in hand. Pant walks out with his players. He has a chat to Shami and Prince. Who will bowl for LSG? Powell and Rinku the batters for KKR. Prince to bowl. Will we have more drama? Rinku on strike.

What an over that is by Narine. Just 1 run and two wickets in three balls. Pooran is seen chewing his gum while Langer sits hunched back in his seat. He too is chewing his gum furiously. He has an angry look on his face. Southee in the KKR camp is all smiles. Narine as usual is placid - a word that my esteemed colleague - Sagar Chawla uses a lot to describe such people. As soon as the catch was taken by Rinku, KKR camp erupted in joy. Dishant Yagnik was all smiles. As were the others. When the 2nd wicket fell, Narine just celebrated with a gentle fist-pump. That's the max emotion you get out of him.

Ball 3: Sunil Narine to Markram, OUT! Caught!! Rinku is pumped. He has completed the work done by Powell. Narine has picked up the two wickets in three balls. This is flatter and not all that short, Markram stays back and lofts it down the ground. He could not generate enough power as the weight was on the back leg. Powell runs to his left and reverse cups it, but the momentum was taking him over the rope, so he throws the ball up for the incoming Rinku, and the duo pull off an excellent tag-team catch. Markram c Rinku Singh b Narine 0(1). LSG - 1/2

Ball 2: Sunil Narine to Pant, 1 run, Pant comes down the track and takes it on a length on middle, finds deep point as he slashes and it's just one. LSG - 1/1

Ball 1: Sunil Narine to Pooran, OUT! Bowled!! Narine always had the wood over Pooran. Was it a wise decision to send Pooran against Narine? He's gone first ball. Tossed up off-break, Pooran sits down to play the slog sweep, misses and the ball crashes into off-stump. Replays show that the ball pitched outside leg-stump and spins across Pooran, he missed the slog sweep and the ball hit the top of off-stump. That ball spun and Pooran had no chance. Pooran b Narine 0(1). LSG - 0/1

Looks like Kartik Tyagi will be the one who will bowl the Super Over. Rahane has an arm around his shoulder and talking. Since LSG batted 2nd, they will bat 1st. Out walk Markram and Pooran to the middle. Pant is padded up. So that's the three batters. Narine to bowl for KKR. It will be Pooran on strike. Pooran is taking a few deep breaths. He doesn't have a great record against Narine in T20s, and even played out a maiden in a Super Over in the CPL against his Trinidadian team-mate. Let's wait and watch what happens. Three on the off-side in the ring. From over the wicket.

23:31 Local Time, 18:01 GMT: What a game. What a finish. And now we have a Super Over. Discussions in both camps. The crowd getting their money's worth and more. KKR v LSG is the gift that keeps on giving. We had Mukul's heroics in the return fixture, now we have a Super Over in this one.

A six for a Super Over. Will we get to see one? Here we go....

7 off 2. Deep backward point and deep point back. Long-on, deep backward square-leg and deep mid-wicket back.