Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) opener Finn Allen brought a storm to the Eden Gardens on Saturday, smashing 93 runs off just 35 balls against the Gujarat Titans (GT). His knock was laced with four boundaries and more than double — ten — sixes. It took his tally for the IPL 2026 season to a whopping 27 sixes after nine matches. It broke the record for the most maximums by a KKR player in a debut season — the previous best was Phil Salt’s 24 in 2024. Allen now has two more matches to collect five more sixes and break the all-time IPL record of Mumbai Indians (MI)’s Sanath Jayasuriya, who smashed 31 in his debut season in 2008. Allen has been a revelation for KKR this year, and it all comes from one thing that he has in spades: fearlessness to play the T20 format in the right way. Unlike most other KKR ‘batters’, Allen takes pride in being a ‘hitter’, who plays every ball on its merit and goes after the bowlers at all costs. “I think for me, it’s just reacting,” he said before the match. “That’s the thing that I’ve been working on the most. When I start thinking too much or premeditating too much is when I’ve got myself into trouble. So for me, it’s just standing there trying to be as still as possible and just reacting to what they’re bowling,” he added. Even against GT, he was dropped at 33 by Mohammed Siraj, but that didn’t make him take his foot off the gas. No wonder Allen has the second-highest strike rate, 221.37, in this season (minimum 50 runs). The second-best for KKR is Cameron Green’s 150. KKR’s relationship with their fans seems to have broken down a bit. The team has lost all the ‘excitement’ factor it brought in 2024, which has prompted the Eden Gardens to be half-empty more often than not. But if Allen continues to play like he has, he will not only give KKR the best possible chance to qualify for the playoffs but also single-handedly restore the fans’ love for the franchise.