Ahead of the Kolkata Knight Riders vs Punjab Kings (KKR vs PBKS), IPL 2026 match number 12, there were predictions for heavy rain and thunderstorms in the city. Traditionally, under heavy weather, teams mostly chose to bowl first because of the uncertainty.
During the rain break, former India spinner, now a cricket expert, Anil Kumble said on the JioHotstar broadcast, “I am surprised that Rahane won the toss and chose to bat first. On a pitch like this, where there's some rain around, ideally, you would want to field first.”
On the other side, former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin was also surprised to see KKR go to bat first after winning the toss. Ahswin pointed out that under such weather conditions and with an inexperienced bowling combination, KKR’s decision to bat first took him by surprise.
When you know it’s going to be a rain affected game, with an inexperienced bowling attack at your disposal, you choose to bat first.Interesting thought process. #ipl2026 pic.twitter.com/uPWQB7Odfr
— Ashwin ?? (@ashwinravi99) April 6, 2026KKR without Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy
Meanwhile, the Kolkata-based team announced their playing eleven for the match, without their key spinners, Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy. At the toss, Ajinkya Rahane informed that Varun missed the match because of the injury he received in the previous match while fielding, and they omitted Narine from the eleven because of health concerns.
Ajinkya Rahane explained why he elected to bat first
According to Cricbuzz, the Kolkata Knight Riders are playing their first match since 2020 without either Sunil Narine or Varun Chakravarthy in the playing eleven. Rahane further explained why he chose to bat first. According to him, the pitch looked on the drier side, but looked overall nice.
Read More: KKR vs PBKS Impact Players Today: Toss Report, Playing XIs, Latest Updates IPL 2026 Match 12
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