Finn Allen had nothing left to prove when he came into IPL 2026, but when a tournament is as popular as this, people tend to write you off prematurely.
It is not quite the cold, rainy night in Stoke, but there is something about the relentlessness of the IPL schedule and the publicity of your price tag that tests your game and mental resolve. Especially when you are the main attraction of your side and become part of a five-match winless streak and get dropped for the sixth.
Allen announced himself loudly enough with 37 off 17 and 28 off seven, but then came three single-figure scores, and he found himself the most dispensable member of a team that just wasn't winning. The problem for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) was the two batters around Allen, but one was the captain and the other an Indian player.
For reasons of combination and the limit on overseas players, Allen ended up getting sacrificed for fellow New Zealander Tim Seifert. In doing so, KKR completely dropped their main event off the card. When all along Allen should have been getting the special treatment you would reserve for Chris Gayle, for example.
The reason is obvious. Nobody is as devastating in world cricket as Allen once they get into their innings. Since the start of 2025, among batters who have gone past 20 balls at least ten times, nobody has struck as quickly as Allen's 231.6. Shreyas Iyer, Tim David and Ishan Kishan have come close.
When Allen needed time in the middle, time was what KKR didn't have for him. However, on his return, Allen has been lucky to be part of a side whose bowlers have given him time. A target of just 143 against Delhi Capitals (DC) was just the circumstance Allen needed to get himself going. It helped that KKR lost a couple of early wickets, giving him that added responsibility. He scored 20 off the first 17 balls he faced, but the assault thereafter was brutal: 80 off the remaining 30.
"I think that's the model I've been trying to [work on] with my batting, I guess," Allen said on the broadcast after the game. "If it's not easy, stay in it. Working with Watto [Shane Watson] and Abhishek [Nayar] as well, you know, just trying to give myself a chance. I feel like I've got a few starts, and it's been pretty frustrating. But I guess [now I] have a little bit of personal success."
During this comeback - if you will - Allen sort of challenged himself to bat 40 balls, which can be dangerous for teams if he starts doing it regularly. There is nobody in the world as quick as Allen from balls 21 to 40.
"I think when the situation comes to it, you just forget about your batting and play the situation," Allen said. "I think I knew if I stayed out there for a long period of time… I was always looking to try to bat 40 balls - as I haven't too often - but that was what was keeping me ticking today."
This hundred - only the fourth for KKR in the IPL and only the second by a New Zealander - will bring relief to Allen. "Oh, look, I think sometimes it [being dropped from the side] changes your perspective, right," Allen said. "You go out of the team, have a bit of time for a mental refresh. To be honest, I was just putting too much pressure on myself at the start. So, it was nice to have that: sit back, refresh, come back in, and yeah."
In the end, Allen ended up taking some spotlight away from the bowlers who were the ones who gave him this bit of extra time to work his way back in. Nobody will be complaining, though, because now KKR's momentum resembles something of that Allen blitz after 20 balls.