Australian allrounder leads the way as resurgent Kolkata remain in the fight for an IPL play-off place
Match Report:
ScorecardGreen's best bowling of IPL season fires KKR charge
Cameron Green has produced his best bowling display of the 2026 Indian Premier League season, helping Kolkata Knight Riders to another victory as they continue to make a late surge towards the play-offs.
The 26-year-old seems to be growing with every outing, after the stuttering start to a campaign when he seemed to be weighed down by his record-breaking price tag, and on Wednesday, bowled superbly to ignite KKR's charge to a four-wicket victory over Mumbai Indians at Eden Gardens.
Having elected to bowl first in front of their home fans, Green's opening over, the third of the innings, proved critical as he grabbed two key wickets in four balls to leave the visitors rocking at 2-17.
First, he induced a soaring top-edge from Ryan Rickelton that finally came down to earth in Manish Pandey's hands at point, then got Naman Dhir fishing outside off and caught behind, a not-out verdict that was overturned on review.
It set the tone for KKR, who never really took the foot off Mumbai's throat after that, with Saurabh Dubey taking 2-34 and Kartik Tyagi 2-37.
Green was outstanding with his 2-23, including nine dot balls, off his three overs.
Surine Narine, meanwhile, outshone everyone with his 1-13 off four overs.
Going at just 3.25 an over is a staggering achievement in the IPL, and it helped KKR restrict Mumbai to 8-147, which wouldn't have had an air of respectability without Corbin Bosch boshing an unbeaten 32 off 18 balls at the death.
It wasn't a straightforward chase as the in-form Finn Allen (eight off five), captain Ajinkya Rahane (21 off 17) and Green, caught at fine leg for just four off eight, departed cheaply.
But Pandey, with 45 off 33 balls and Rovman Powell (40 off 30) broke the back of the chase, as Kolkata reached 6-148 with seven balls to spare for a sixth win in their last seven games.
That's a remarkable turnaround after they began the season by losing their first five completed matches. Now, just a point behind fourth-placed Rajasthan Royals in sixth place, they can smell a spot in the knock-outs.
"After that first win, we started believing," captain Ajinkya Rahane said of Kolkata's turnaround that started with a victory over Rajasthan this time last month.
Still, Rajasthan look poised to book their place if wonder boy Vaibhav Sooryavanshi maintains his extraordinary form against Mumbai on Sunday.
IPL 2026 standings
| Team | M | W | L | T | N/R | NRR | Ded. | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1
RCB
|
13 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1.065 | 0 | 18 |
|
2
GUT
|
13 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0.4 | 0 | 16 |
|
3
SUN
|
13 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0.35 | 0 | 16 |
|
4
RAJ
|
13 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0.083 | 0 | 14 |
|
5
KXI
|
13 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0.227 | 0 | 13 |
|
6
KKR
|
13 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0.011 | 0 | 13 |
|
7
CSK
|
13 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 0 | -0.016 | 0 | 12 |
|
8
DEL
|
13 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 0 | -0.871 | 0 | 12 |
|
9
MI
|
13 | 4 | 9 | 0 | 0 | -0.51 | 0 | 8 |
|
10
LSG
|
13 | 4 | 9 | 0 | 0 | -0.702 | 0 | 8 |
M: Matches played
W: Wins
L: Losses
T: Ties
N/R: No results
NRR: Net Run Rate
Ded.: Deductions
PTS: Total points
Australians in IPL 2026
Chennai Super Kings: Matt Short ($255k), Spencer Johnson ($255k, replaces Nathan Ellis ($340k))
Delhi Capitals: Mitchell Starc ($2m)
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Josh Hazlewood ($2.13m), Tim David ($510k)
Punjab Kings: Marcus Stoinis ($1.9m), Ben Dwarshuis ($745k), Mitchell Owen ($510k), Cooper Connolly ($510k), Xavier Bartlett ($136k)
Kolkata Knight Riders: Cameron Green ($3.5m)
Sunrisers Hyderabad: Pat Cummins ($3.5m), Travis Head ($2.38m), Jack Edwards ($510k, withdrawn)
Lucknow Super Giants: Josh Inglis ($1.49m), Mitchell Marsh ($578k)