In the 45th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) by seven wickets at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.
The KKR bowling effort was led by the spin twins. Varun Chakaravarthy was the star, as he claimed 3/36, which included the coveted scalp of Travis Head to set off the collapse. Sunil Narine also provided excellent support, taking 2/31 and reaching the historic milestone of 200 IPL wickets. The spinners took advantage of a slowing surface, while Kartik Tyagi (2/30) and Vaibhav Arora offered important breakthroughs at the death, ensuring that SRH could not even bat out their full quota of overs.
Chasing 166, KKR came out with a clear intention to finish early. Finn Allen delivered a high-octane cameo of 29 off 13 balls, relieving pressure from the middle order quickly. Following his departure, skipper Ajinkya Rahane (43) and young Angkrish Raghuvanshi (59) put up a polished 84-run combination to essentially end the match. Raghuvanshi’s smooth fifty demonstrated maturity beyond his years, and despite a few late wickets, Rinku Singh (22*) completed the job with 10 balls remaining.
The story of SRH’s innings was divided into two parts. They opted to bat first, and Travis Head‘s (61) blazing knock appeared to put them up for a massive score. By the midway point, Head and Ishan Kishan (42) pushed SRH to a commanding 107/2. However, the middle and lower order collapsed, losing eight wickets for only 48 runs, and the wheels fell off in a spectacular manner. In the end, SRH were bundled out for 165 in 19 overs.
The SRH bowlers struggled to defend a modest score on a wicket that provided little help to the quicks under lights. Pat Cummins removed the threatening Finn Allen early on, but he was expensive, allowing 47 runs in four overs. While Sakib Hussain and Shivang each took a wicket, the lack of scoreboard pressure kept KKR in control.
With this win, KKR now have seven points but are still eighth in the standings.
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