Sunrisers Hyderabad slayed Kolkata Knight Riders by 65 runs in the sixth match of Indian Premier League 2026 at Eden Gardens, April 2. Discipline in both batting and bowling leads SRH to a well-deserved victory.
SRH Post Massive Total
After losing the toss, Sunrisers Hyderabad were sent in to bat first and immediately placed pressure on the KKR bowlers. Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma provided a booming start from the opening slot.
Head hammered 46 off 21 balls, smacking six fours and three sixes while Abhishek Sharma made 48 off 21 balls with four fours and four sixes. The pair had put together 82 runs for the first wicket in only 5.4 overs which set the tone for a big score.
After the explosive start, Heinrich Klaasen played a vital knock in the middle overs. Klaasen stabilized the innings with 52 from 35 balls, hitting four boundaries and a six. Nitish Kumar Reddy was also instrumental in keeping up a brisk scoring rate, making 39 from 24 balls.
SRH eventually piled up a massive 226/8 in their full quota of overs, scoring at an unbelievable run rate of 11.30 runs per over.
Best bowler for KKR was Blessing Muzarabani, who secured 4 wickets for only 41 runs in 4 overs. Vaibhav Arora took 2 wickets, Anukul Roy and Kartik Tyagi took one wicket each.
KKR Falter in the Chase
Finn Allen gave Kolkata Knight Riders a flying start in their chase of the difficult target of 227 runs, scoring an explosive 28 runs off just 7 balls with four fours and two sixes. But early momentum didn’t last for long.
KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane scored just 8 runs and wickets fell at regular intervals. Young batter Angkrish Raghuvanshi made a valiant effort and scored 52 runs off of 29 balls, while Rinku Singh made 35 from 25 deliveries.
KKR’s batting order failed to maintain the required run rate despite Kock and Trish taking 232 on the board. The team ultimately got bowled out for 161 runs inside 16 overs, losing the match by 65 runs.
SRH Bowlers Seal the Victory
SRH bowlers put up a brilliant effort as they defended the massive total. The pick of the bowlers was Jaydev Unadkat, who returned with 3 for 21 in 3 overs.
Sri Lankan pacer Eshan Malinga proved to be vital with the ball as well, grabbing 2 top-order wickets for just 14 runs. Nitish Kumar Reddy contributed with 2 wickets and Harsh Dubey picked up one wicket.
Match Summary
| Team | Score |
| Sunrisers Hyderabad | 226/8 (20 overs) |
| Kolkata Knight Riders | 161 all out (16 overs) |
Top Performers:
- Heinrich Klaasen – 52 (35)
- Abhishek Sharma – 48 (21)
- Travis Head – 46 (21)
- Angkrish Raghuvanshi – 52 (29)
- Jaydev Unadkat – 3/21
- Blessing Muzarabani – 4/41
