Rain washes out IPL clash between Kolkata and Punjab

Kolkata Knight Riders picked up their first point of the IPL following the first no-result of the 2026 tournament after their match against Punjab Kings was abandoned after just 22 deliveries on Monday.

Following defeats to Mumbai Indians and Sunrisers Hyderabad in their two opening fixtures, Kolkata were in trouble at 25-2 after 3.4 overs at their Eden Gardens home ground when the rain arrived at 7:48 pm local time.

The rain finally relented 40 minutes before the 11:14 pm cut-off, but there wasn't enough time to get the ground ready for a five-overs-a-side shootout.

Unbeaten Punjab reclaimed the top position in the league table with five points from three matches while Kolkata opened their account fortuitously after going into the match without their lead spinners. Varun Chakravarthy was injured while West Indian Sunil Narine was ruled out because of illness.

Despite the threat of rain, Ajinkya Rahane surprisingly opted to bat first but watched in consternation as opening partner Finn Allen of New Zealand and Australian Cameron Green were both caught behind off Aussie swing exponent Xavier Bartlett in the space of three deliveries in the second over.

It started raining not long afterwards, forcing the sides to split the points.