The IPL 2026 season is in full swing with the latest T20 Cricket match between the Kolkata Knight Riders and the Sunrisers Hyderabad. For KKR, the best bowler in today’s match is Blessing Muzarabani.
Bowling is a vital part of the sport of T20 cricket, and Muzarabani proved that in this match against the Sunrisers Hyderabad. Additionally, Muzarabani hit a record in his second match for the Kolkata Knight Riders.
Blessing Muzarabani Becomes First Bowler to Hit Benchmark
Muzarabani didn’t have the best first match with the Kolkata Knight Riders.
Against the Mumbai Indians, Muzarabani threw three overs against the five-time IPL champions. However, he surrendered 34 runs to go along with zero wickets and six dot balls.
Now, against the Sunrisers Hyderabad, he brought the pace and collected the first four-wicket haul of the 2026 IPL season.
At the time of this writing, Muzarabani is the first bowler to take four wickets this year. He is also on the first two teams to play their second match of the young season.
Muzarabani finished the match with 4/41 figures, to go along with seven dot balls in four overs.
Muzarabani Among IPL 2026 Purple Cap Leaders
KKR’s new pacer is among the top bowlers both on his team and in the IPL so far this season.
Not only does he have the most wickets this year, but he is also among the leading bowlers in other categories. Muzarabani is ranked seventh in dot balls and has the best bowling figure.
A four-wicket haul isn’t something that happens every match, after all; it took six matches for the milestone to be reached in the IPL 2026 season.
In 2025, 15 different bowlers collected a four or five-wicket haul. Here is the list:
- Mitchell Starc
- Hardik Pandya
- Mohammed Siraj
- Noor Ahmad
- Jasprit Bumrah
- Ashwani Kumar
- Trent Boult
- Harshal Patel
- Yuzvendra Chahal
- Josh Hazlewood
- Mukesh Kumar
- Shardul Thakur
- Wanindu Hasaranga
- Prasidh Krishna
- Krunal Pandya
Is Blessing Muzarabani Better Than Mustafizur Rahman?
Mustafizur Rahman bowled in the IPL for 60 matches across eight different seasons. His first IPL tournament came in 2016, with his last season being in 2025.
In those 60 matches, Rahman collected only one four-wicket haul. That four-wicket haul came in 2024, during a match that earned Rahman a 4/29 figure.
In his entire IPL career, Rahman has 65 wickets. He also has a lifetime Economy of 8.13.
The fact that Blessing took a four-wicket match in his second IPL appearance immediately puts him ahead of Rahman. However, Rahman has put together a tidy career, with the 2024 season arguably being the best of his IPL career.
KKR are looking like geniuses with this move of replacing Rahman with Blessing.
KKR Strike Gold With Mustafizur Rahman Replacement