IPL 2026: 'I was putting too much pressure on myself'- Finn Allen opens up on mental reset
Finn Allen's career-defining maiden IPL century powered Kolkata Knight Riders to a dominant eight-wicket win over Delhi Capitals. Allen smashed an unbeaten 100 off 47 balls, reflecting on a mindset shift towards adaptability and responsibility after early season struggles. Time out of the XI helped reset his perspective, leading to this explosive turnaround.
Finn Allen delivered a career-defining maiden IPL century to power Kolkata Knight Riders to a dominant eight-wicket win over Delhi Capitals, and after the match he opened up on the mindset shift behind his explosive turnaround. Allen smashed an unbeaten 100 off 47 balls, reaching his ton with a towering tenth six as KKR chased down 143 with 34 balls to spare at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. Speaking after being named Player of the Match, the New Zealand batter reflected on how he has tried to evolve his game after a tough start to the season.
“(This is almost Finn Allen 2. 0? ) Oh, I think, you know, what I've been working on is trying to have more strings to my bow,” Allen said.
He admitted that early setbacks forced him to take a more responsible approach when KKR lost quick wickets during the chase. “We obviously lost a couple of early wickets, so I just tried to have a bit of responsibility and get a win on the board for the boys,” he added. Allen explained that he had to consciously shift gears during the innings, especially against quality spin bowling.
“It was still a little bit challenging at the start, Axar bowled really well and restricted us. So I just tried to get into strong positions and bat deep,” he said. Despite being known for his aggressive six-hitting, Allen stressed that adaptability has become a key part of his batting evolution.