Finn Allen misses huge IPL milestone after Kolkata Knight Riders opener's whirlwind 35-ball 93 during KKR vs GT

Finn Allen missed a huge milestone of becoming the first Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) batter to recorded to hundreds in the Indian Premier League (IPL) after the New Zealand opener fell just seven runs short of what could have been a scintillating century against Gujarat Titans on Saturday. Earlier, Allen had scored his maiden IPL hundred against Delhi Capitals.

Sent into bat first by Gujarat Titans captain Shubman Gill, Allen started slowly before going on a rampage against the likes of Kagiso Rabada, Rashid Khan, Mohammed Siraj and Jason Holder. Although KKR lost captain Ajinkya Rahane inside the powerplay, Allen went on with his business, and raced to his second fifty in just 21 balls.

Allen should also thank Holder and Siraj for his knock after the right-hander survived twice on the day. Allen was brutal against Arshad Khan as the Kiwi batter whacked three sixes and a four in the 11th over. However, it was Sai Kishore who brought Allen's downfall in the 12th over of the game.

Tossed up on the leg-stump line, Allen went on his backfoot to go over the top but didn't get the needed elevation to be caught by Rashid on the boundary. He walked back for 93 off just 35 balls, studded with four boundaries and 10 sixes. In the process, Allen became the first KKR batter with 10 sixes in an IPL innings twice in a season.

Brendon McCullum (2008) and Andre Russell (2018) are the only other KKR batters with at least 10 sixes in an IPL innings. Previously, McCullum (2008). Venkatesh Iyer (2023) and Sunil Narine (2024) had scored a hundred each for KKR. Had Allen reached three figures, he would have become the first from the franchise with two IPL tons written beside his name.

Speaking at the mid-innings break, Allen called himself “lucky”. “Sometimes you get a little bit lucky. I just tried to continue on as long as I could. Yeah, it's a beautiful ground to bat at. Boundaries are quite small, the wicket is usually pretty good. It was a little bit tricky at the start, but we just tried to push through that,” said the KKR opening batter.

KKR batters with IPL hundreds

How Finn Allen fared in IPL 2026?

Having bought for ₹2 crore, Allen didn't started his maiden IPL stint as he would have liked. He started with scores of 37, 28, 6, 9 and 1 before being dropped from the playing XI. Allen returned with a 29 against Sunrisers Hyderabad before smashing his maiden IPL hundred against Delhi Capitals.

The swashbuckling batter managed just 18 against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in a losing cause. In nine matches so far, Allen accumulated 321 runs in IPL 2026 at a strike rate of 221.37. Riding on Allen's 93, and knocks from Angkrish Raghuvanshi (82 not out) and Cameron Green (52 not out), KKR managed 247/2 in 20 overs - their highest in IPL 2026.

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