KKR vs DC Toss & Playing XI, IPL 2026: Kolkata Wins Toss and Opts to Bowl First in Match 70
While the playoff hopes might seem almost non-existent for Kolkata Knight Riders ahead of their final league game in Indian Premier League 2026 against Delhi Capitals, a lot still depends on the earlier match of Rajasthan Royals against Mumbai Indians. If RR falter in their league encounter, then KKR are still in the race to play for the Eliminator and they will then know the kind of target they need to achieve in Eden Gardens.
However, KKR head coach Abhishek Nayar stated that the side will concentrate on playing its brand of cricket, rather than letting pressure situations get the better of them, and added that even if the calculations get complicated, there is always something to play for in the final league game. Delhi Capitals are out of contention as a win here will only take them to 14 points which will not be enough for them to qualify as Punjab Kings has already reached 15 points after their win against Lucknow Super Giants.
Both teams are likely to play on the same central pitch on which the Knight Riders played against the Sunrisers Hyderabad earlier in the season, the surface on which, it slowed down over the course of the match, aiding the bowlers heavily in the second innings, after SRH recorded a huge 226 on the board. With the equations, Net Run Rate, pride all on the line, both the teams would look to end their Indian Premier League 2026 campaign on a high note at the iconic Eden Gardens.
At the toss, Kolkata have won and chose to bowl first.
Here's what the captains said at the toss
Ajinkya Rahane:
"We will bowl first. It’s pretty simple. We know the scenario depending on what’s going to happen in the previous game, which is happening right now. But regardless of that, we don’t know what the result will be. Also, the wicket looks really good. So yes, it’s very simple. It’s still a game of cricket to be played, and the last six games have been fantastic for us. We still want to compete and win this game. As I said, we don’t know what’s going to happen, but whenever you play a game of cricket, you always look to win. Really proud of the unit, especially because it’s not easy to come back from the situation we were in. It takes courage, character, and attitude to bounce back as a team. IPL is a funny tournament with 24–25 players and support staff, maintaining that atmosphere, intensity and carrying it forward every time is fantastic. So yes, I’m really proud of each and every one. Same team."
Axar Patel:
"Yes, obviously I would have bowled first because, the way this tournament has gone, we’ve done well while chasing. So yes, looking at that, we would’ve bowled first. But it’s not bad because the wicket looks good and even if we look ahead to next year, though that’s still far away, if we bat first, our batsmen will get an opportunity to understand how to approach batting first as well. No, I don’t think we should see it like a bad dream. Obviously, there’s a lot of reflection and thought about what we could’ve done better or changed. But honestly, I don’t think we played bad cricket. I’d say we were unfortunate at crucial moments, we dropped catches at key times. Cricket is like that, when opportunities come, if you don’t grab them, you fall behind. Those opportunities were ours, and the mistakes were ours too. So I think we should learn from them and move forward. Sometimes when you’re winning, even if you make small mistakes, they get ignored because you don’t focus too much on them. But when those same small moments hurt you badly, then you realize that if we hadn’t made those mistakes, we could’ve been in a completely different position. But that’s cricket, after every season, there are always regrets. What matters is whether you executed the plans your team made. If the answer is yes, then I think you should move on and look ahead."
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KKR vs DC Playing XI
Kolkata Knight Riders (Playing XI): Ajinkya Rahane (c), Manish Pandey, Cameron Green, Rovman Powell, Rinku Singh, Tejasvi Dahiya(w), Anukul Roy, Sunil Narine, Saurabh Dubey, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kartik Tyagi
KKR Impact subs: Finn Allen, Sarthak Ranjan, Vaibhav Arora, Ramandeep Singh, Rahul Tripathi
Delhi Capitals (Playing XI): Abishek Porel, KL Rahul (wk), Sahil Parakh, Tristan Stubbs, David Miller, Axar Patel (c), Ashutosh Sharma, Madhav Tiwari, Auqib Nabi Dar, Mitchell Starc, Lungi Ngidi
DC Impact subs: T. Vijay, Sameer Rizvi, Vipraj Nigam, Nitish Rana and Kuldeep Yadav