Brief Scores: SRH (226 for 8 in 20 overs) beat KKR (161 all out in 16 overs) by 65 runs in Match #6 of IPL 2026 in Kolkata on Thursday. KKR vs SRH, IPL 2026: MAIN | SCORECARD
Sunrisers Hyderabad bounced back brilliantly from defeat against Royal Challengers Bengaluru to beat Kolkata Knight Riders by 65 runs to open their account in IPL 2026. Against RCB, SRH’s bowling looked pale as The Challengers were chasing 202 in just 15.4 overs.
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At the Eden Gardens, however, the Sunrisers bowlers came through, dismissing the Knight Riders for 161 in 16 overs and redeeming themselves in style. The win also boosted SRH’s net run rate and more importantly their morale after the earlier thrashing.
Ishan Kishan came under pressure as captain after the match against RCB but responded remarkably to secure his first win as IPL captain.
Meanwhile, Knight Riders started the season with a heavy loss against Mumbai Indians and this defeat pushed them as low as ninth in the points table. Their bowlers were taken to the cleaners and the batting line-up faltered under pressure, losing wickets at regular intervals during the chase.
For the first time since 2012, the Knight Riders started their campaign with back-to-back defeats. Interestingly, they won the title that year. It remains to be seen whether they will be able to turn it around this time after such a shaky start.
ABHISHEK, HEAD GO BERSERK
Sunrisers got off to a roaring start after being asked to bat first, with Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head looking ominous from the start. Vaibhav Arora bowled the first over but from the second over Abhishek and Head went wild. The duo added 82 runs in just 5.4 overs to give SRH the perfect platform.
Sunrisers have amassed 84 runs in the powerplay, the most by any team this season so far. Ajinkya Rahane dropped Head for 34, but the no-hit was not too costly for KKR as Kartik Tyagi removed him for a blazing 46 off 21 balls just when he looked set to end the game.
Varun Chakravarthy had a memorable outing, conceding 25 runs in his first over and not even being trusted to complete his quota, he finished with figures of 2-0-31-0. Meanwhile, SRH raced to 100 in just 7.2 overs and looked capable of going past 250 at one stage.
KLAASEN CAPTURES SUNRISERS IN 200
However, Blessing Muzarabani sparked KKR’s comeback in the ninth over. After conceding 16 runs in his first over, he bounced back brilliantly by dismissing Ishan Kishan and the dangerous Abhishek Sharma in the same over. Abhishek, who smashed 48 off 21, fell to a sharp diving catch by Varun, who at least found some redemption in the field.
Anukul Roy then joined the party by removing the dangerous Aniket Verma to leave SRH at 118 for 4 after earlier cruising to 82 for 1.
Nitish Reddy and Heinrich Klaasen tied the innings with a decisive 82-run stand, the fifth-highest Sunrisers’ all-time wicket partnership in IPL history. Vaibhav eventually broke the stand by dismissing Nitish for 39 off 24 before removing Salil Arora in the same over to briefly threaten a hat-trick.
Klaasen then took charge in the death overs, scoring 52 off 35 balls with four fours and a six, which lifted SRH to 226 for 8. Muzarabani was the pick of the KKR bowlers with impressive figures of 4-0-41-4.
ALLEN, RAGHUVANSHI KEEP KKR IN THE HUNT
The Knight Riders couldn’t have asked for a better start as Finn Allen came out all guns blazing. David Payne was dismantled in the opening over, conceding 25 runs. However, SRH struck immediately after introducing spin in the second over, with Harsh Dubey performing a sharp catch-and-bowled dismissal to remove Allen for a stunning 28 off just seven balls.
After Allen’s early exit, Angkrish Raghuvanshi was promoted to No.3 ahead of Cameron Green and combined with Ajinkya Rahane, they kept KKR’s chase on track. Knight Riders had a slight lead at this stage and reached their fifty in just 3.2 overs. Raghuvanshi continued his impressive run of form and backed up his fifty against MI with another blistering half-century, this time reaching the milestone off just 27 balls.
However, Rahane endured a scrappy stay, managing just eight runs from 10 balls before Jaydev Unadkat ended his stay at the wicket for good. KKR suffered another setback when Cameron Green ran out off the last ball of the over. Initially, it looked like Raghuvanshi was the shortstop, but records later confirmed that it was Green.
KKR CRUSHER UNDER PRESSURE
Debutant Shivang Kumar impressed in his first IPL outing, controlling the bowling and keeping things calm, though he dropped a boundary on the last ball of his first over. He was unlucky in his second over as a couple of errors in the field resulted in boundaries which helped KKR cross the 100-run mark in the ninth over.
With 117 needed at the halfway stage, the competition remained well prepared. But KKR suffered a huge blow when Raghuvanshi, who had a forgettable day running between the wickets, was run out for 52 off 29. Then Nitish Reddy removed Anukul Roy to leave Rinku Singh with a mountain to climb.
Once Rinku departed in the 14th over, it was always going to be tough for the Knight Riders. Sunil Narine started knocking Nitish’s back-to-back sixes but his stay was short as Malinga dismissed him.
Then Malinga and Unadkat comfortably cleaned up the tail as Sunrisers dismissed the Knight Riders without breaking a sweat. After being bowled out for 35 runs against RCB, Malinga responded brilliantly with two crucial wickets to help SRH mount a strong comeback.
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Issued by:
sabyasachi chowdhury
Published on:
02 Apr 2026 23:18 IST
