Manish Pandey makes an instant impact as KKR fancy the playoffs

Kolkata Knight Riders’ comeback energy in the second half of IPL 2026 extended into their penultimate round-robin fixture as they bagged a crucial win over Mumbai Indians. On a sluggish pitch at the Eden Gardens, the Knight Riders’ bowlers never let the five-time champions get away to a par score, before Manish Pandey weathered the storm in his first innings with the bat this season, ensuring a comfortable win. The result has catapulted KKR to sixth position on the points table, keeping their playoff hopes alive.

For all intents and purposes, KKR shut this game down with the ball in the Powerplay itself – a rare occurrence this season given their struggles in this phase. Reduced to 95/6, MI could not recover from the body blows as Pandey made a splash in his maiden trip to the crease this year.

Brief Scores: Mumbai Indians 147/8 in 20 overs [Corbin Bosch 32* (18); Cameron Green 2-23, Saurabh Dubey 2-34, Sunil Narine 1-13] lost to Kolkata Knight Riders 148/6 in 18.5 overs [Manish Pandey 45 (33), Rovman Powell 40 (30); Corbin Bosch 3-30, AM Ghazanfar 1-25] by 4 wickets.