KKR chase a playoffs miracle that barely fits their campaign

Languishing in the eighth spot with 11 points, there's an outside chance KKR might sneak through to the playoffs with even one win in their last two – which feels farcical given a season defined by losing ruts, untimely injuries, and an inability to capitalize on the Powerplay.

The aim is to win both, win them big, and let destiny decide. For that, they need Varun Chakaravarthy fit. The 34-year-old spinner missed the RCB match and bowled with a "sore foot" against GT. He trained briefly on match eve behind a sightscreen at Eden Gardens, but was limping entering and exiting the field.

MI have their own fitness cloud. Hardik Pandya didn't travel to Dharamsala due to back issues, instead training in Mumbai. He batted and bowled in MI's high-intensity session two days before the match and is likely to slot back in.

Little is at stake for the already-eliminated MI, but not for Pandya – a shadow of himself since switching franchises in 2024.

When: Match 65, IPL 2026, 20 May 2026 at 7:30 PM local

Where: Eden Gardens, Kolkata

What to expect: Sweaty cricketers and likely empty seats. The pitch may be the one used for KKR-RR earlier, where Varun's 3 for 14 on a dry surface snapped KKR's losing streak. The surface has skewed dimensions with about 12 meters offset between sides. Temperatures around 32°C at match start.

Head to head: KKR 11 – 25 MI

Injuries/unavailability:

• Varun limping; Matheesha Pathirana (pulled up after eight balls on debut) didn't practice.
• For MI: Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav both trained and expected back. Quinton de Kock (tendon) and Raj Bawa (ligament tear) ruled out for the season.

Tactics & matchups:

• Sunil Narine could open the bowling against Rohit Sharma (10 dismissals).
• If Pathirana doesn't play, KKR may pick Blessing Muzarabani (last played April 2) or Vaibhav Arora.
• Jasprit Bumrah has a good record against Rinku Singh.
• AM Ghazanfar could return if the pitch is dry.

Probable XII – KKR: Ajinkya Rahane (c), Finn Allen, Angkrish Raghuvanshi (wk), Cameron Green, Manish Pandey, Rinku Singh, Sunil Narine, Anukul Roy, Varun Chakaravarthy, Saurabh Dubey, Kartik Tyagi, Blessing Muzarabani/Vaibhav Arora

Probable XII – MI: Rohit Sharma, Ryan Rickelton (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Naman Dhir, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya (c), Will Jacks, Corbin Bosch, Deepak Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah (c), Raghu Sharma, AM Ghazanfar

• KKR have dropped only 9 catches (best catching efficiency 86.9%).
• Angkrish Raghuvanshi has the best average against pacers among batters facing 100+ balls this IPL.
• Not once in 12 innings have both KKR openers survived the Powerplay.

Quotes:

• Naman Dhir on playing under three MI captains: "All the captains have different tactics. I enjoyed playing under everyone."
• Anukul Roy: "I feel like I can do more, contribute more to the KKR side like I do for my team at the domestic level."