Watch: Digvesh Rathi’s controversial catch dismisses Finn Allen for 9 in IPL 2026 clash vs KKR

The first bright news of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 contest between the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at the Eden Gardens was the dry weather after the home side’s previous contest was washed out due to torrential rain against the Punjab Kings (PBKS).

Lucknow captain, Rishabh Pant, won the toss and decided to bowl first on a surface which helped the pacers in the previous game, as Pant hoped for the same result in this encounter. Meanwhile, the Knight Riders were happy to see the return of Sunil Narine in place of Blessing Muzarabani.

Finn Allen’s controversial dismissal sparks debate in IPL 2026

For the first few balls against Mohammed Shami, Finn Allen hardly had any knowledge as the ball swung in both ends. The New Zealand batter, who has struggled to make a massive impact despite the expectation heading into the event, clubbed his first boundary against Prince Yadav.

Allen used the angle of the delivery and whipped it backward of square for a boundary before dragging the short ball off the inner half of his bat and beating the short fine leg fielder to the left for another four. But a ball later, the right-handed batter was dismissed for nine runs by Prince, thanks to the catch of Digvesh Rathi.

Watch the video here: 

It was a length delivery as the KKR batter got a thick top-edge with the ball flying down to the third man. It seemed to be heading over the rope, but Rathi steadied himself right on the edge of the rope. He stood sideways to his left and grabbed the catch with both hands.

However, the replays showed that his leg had perhaps touched the cushion while he took the ball into his hands. But surprisingly, the third umpire didn’t take a second look and raised his finger.

KKR continues to struggle in powerplay

After the dismissal of Allen, the KKR management sent Angkrish Raghuvanshi to number three. The right-handed batter didn’t look to find the right timing off his bat with six runs in just 10 balls. The onus fell on their captain, Ajinkya Rahane, who looked to break the jail.

See Also: Watch: Shadab Khan pulls off stunning diving catch to dismiss Abdullah Shafique in PSL 2026 clash vs Lahore Qalandars

Shami was again excellent with the new ball for his fine spell of 0/11 in two overs. Pant was equally good in using his bowlers and didn’t let the home batters get adjusted to a particular bowler.

Brief Scores (at the time of writing)- KKR 80/1 (A Rahane 38*, P Yadav 1/10) vs LSG 

Fans react to Rathi’s controversial catch in IPL 2026 vs KKR

Here is how the fans have reacted to Rathi’s controversial catch to dismiss Allen in IPL 2026-