Varun Chakravarthy and KKR finally solve the ‘mystery’ around their poor showing in IPL 2026

Mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy finally solved the mystery around his below-par performances in IPL (Indian Premier League) 2026 as Kolkata Knight Riders posted their first win of the campaign.

Chakravarthy’s 3/14 from four overs, his best yet of the season, helped KKR defeat Rajasthan Royals by four wickets after restricting the visitors to 155/9.

KKR did not have an easy chase, but they managed to win with two balls to spare. Rinku Singh scored an unbeaten 53 off 34. Teenage opener Vaibhav Suryavanshi's 28-ball 46 and Yashasvi Jaiswal's 39 off 29 were the notable performances for KKR.

KKR had not won in their first six rounds, and a part of the reason was inconsistent performances from their most lethal spin weapon, Chakravarthy. The spinner from Tamil Nadu took 2/34 in the previous match against the Gujarat Titans.

However, tonight he hit the right lengths and rediscovered the chemistry with veteran spinner Sunil Narine, who fetched 2/26.

RR began brightly with opener Suryavanshi, and Jaiswal making 63 off the powerplay and adding a partnership of 81 in 8.4 overs. Narine had been introduced early, but Suryavanshi went after the West Indies star with a six.

But Chakravarthy got the big wicket of Suryavanshi in his first over, getting Ramandeep Singh to grab an attempt for a big hit. That was Chakravarthy’s 200th T20 wicket. He also bagged the wickets of Dhruv Jurel (5) and RR captain Riyan Parag (12).