{"id":16496,"date":"2026-05-16T21:56:10","date_gmt":"2026-05-16T21:56:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/saharanews.in\/2026\/05\/16\/kkrs-18-crore-gamble-under-threat-as-matheesha-pathirana-walks-off-mid-over-on-debut\/"},"modified":"2026-05-16T21:56:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-16T21:56:10","slug":"kkrs-18-crore-gamble-under-threat-as-matheesha-pathirana-walks-off-mid-over-on-debut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/saharanews.in\/?p=16496","title":{"rendered":"KKR\u2019s 18 crore gamble under threat as Matheesha Pathirana walks off mid-over on debut"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-articlebody=\"1\"><video-embed value=\"true\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"ihgno clearfix  \">\n<div class=\"e9jwa\">\n<div class=\"vdo_embedd\">\n<div class=\"GfdvZ\">\n<section class=\"_bIDB  clearfix id-r-component leadmedia undefined undefined  E9tg9 \" style=\"top:0px\">\n<div class=\"_bIDB\" data-ua-type=\"1\" onclick=\"stpPgtnAndPrvntDefault(event)\">\n<div class=\"ypVvZ\">\n<div class=\"WGttI\"><img src=\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/thumb\/msid-131142029,imgsize-1149712,width-400,height-225,resizemode-4\/matheesha-pathirana.jpg\" alt=\"IPL 2026: KKR\u2019s 18 crore gamble under threat as Matheesha Pathirana walks off mid-over on debut\" title=\"&lt;p&gt;Matheesha Pathirana (X-cricbuzz)&lt;\/p&gt;\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Ta7d_ img_cptn\"><span title=\"Matheesha Pathirana (X-cricbuzz)\"><\/p>\n<p>Matheesha Pathirana (X-cricbuzz)<\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/sports\/cricket\/player-profile\/matheesha-pathirana\/73830\" styleobj=\"[object Object]\" class=\"\" commonstate=\"[object Object]\" frmappuse=\"1\">Matheesha Pathirana<\/a> suffered an injury scare during his long-awaited IPL 2026 debut for Kolkata Knight Riders against Gujarat Titans on Saturday after walking off the field midway through his spell.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"3\"\/> The Sri Lankan pacer, who was making his first appearance of the season after recovering from an injury sustained during the T20 World Cup, looked in discomfort just eight balls into his outing.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"5\"\/><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"7\"\/> Pathirana had bowled seven deliveries before pulling out of his run-up while attempting to deliver his eighth ball. Medical staff immediately attended to him on the field as concern spread among KKR players and fans.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"9\"\/> Despite the discomfort, the fast bowler completed one more delivery \u2014 a slower ball \u2014 before eventually leaving the field for further treatment.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"13\"\/> KKR had invested heavily in Pathirana during the IPL 2026 auction, signing the Sri Lankan speedster for a massive Rs 18 crore. His return was seen as a major boost for the former champions, especially with the team fighting to stay alive in the playoff race.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"15\"\/> The injury concern came on a night where KKR\u2019s batters completely dominated Gujarat Titans in a must-win clash at Eden Gardens.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"17\"\/> Earlier in the innings, <a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/sports\/cricket\/player-profile\/finn-allen\/66046\" styleobj=\"[object Object]\" class=\"\" commonstate=\"[object Object]\" frmappuse=\"1\">Finn Allen<\/a> unleashed a breathtaking assault, smashing 93 off just 35 deliveries with 10 sixes after surviving two dropped catches. The explosive opener tore apart GT\u2019s attack and powered KKR to a flying start after Gujarat captain <a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/topic\/shubman-gill\" styleobj=\"[object Object]\" class=\"\" commonstate=\"[object Object]\" frmappuse=\"1\">Shubman Gill<\/a> opted to field first on a sticky surface.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"24\"\/> After Allen\u2019s dismissal, Angkrish Raghuvanshi and <!-- -->Cameron Green<!-- --> continued the destruction with unbeaten half-centuries and a 108-run partnership off just 53 balls.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"28\"\/> Gujarat\u2019s fielding nightmare only worsened matters as they dropped four catches during the innings, allowing Allen, Raghuvanshi and Green to fully capitalise. KKR eventually piled up 247\/2, their highest total of the season and the highest-ever IPL total against Gujarat Titans.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"30\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/sports\/cricket\/ipl\/ipl-2026\/ipl-2026-kkrs-18-crore-gamble-under-threat-as-matheesha-pathirana-walks-off-mid-over-on-debut\/articleshow\/131142007.cms\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Matheesha Pathirana (X-cricbuzz) Matheesha Pathirana suffered an injury scare during his long-awaited IPL 2026 debut for Kolkata Knight Riders against Gujarat Titans on Saturday after walking off the field midway through his spell. The Sri Lankan pacer, who was making his first appearance of the season after recovering from an injury sustained during the T20&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16497,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16496","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/saharanews.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16496","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/saharanews.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/saharanews.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saharanews.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saharanews.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=16496"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/saharanews.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16496\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saharanews.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/16497"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/saharanews.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16496"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saharanews.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16496"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saharanews.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16496"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}