Indian Premier League 2026 - 6th Match
KKR
0/0
vs
SRH
0/0
Match starts at Apr 02, 14:00 GMT
won the toss and chose to
Commentary
Preview by Aadya Sharma
Almost exactly 24 hours before the first ball of their first home fixture, KKR's team bus stationed itself to carry back the home team from practice. Yards away, separated by a barricade and white-uniformed police, stood a small army of fans. Head coach Abhishek Nayar is banking on them, multiplied by hundreds, to re-establish KKR's home advantage, even as the perennial debate around the pitch in Kolkata (and who it favours) takes shape.
Inside, teams practiced in the arena set to be full to the brim, both reeling from a loss each in the opening game. For SRH, 201 at the Chinnaswamy Stadium wasn't really going to be enough against the defending champions. Yet, head coach Daniel Vettori called it one of their "poorer bowling performances". How their pace attack takes shape until Pat Cummins returns could define their journey, as would be the way they bounce back from their spin woes from last year.
When: Kolkata Knight Riders vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, IPL 2026, April 2, 7:30 PM IST
Where: Eden Gardens, Kolkata
What to expect: With three games in Kolkata in the space of a week, there will be a close watch on the weather. The first two games should be played under clear skies, with thunderstorms likely to (if at all) make an appearance next week.
Head to head: 20-10 for KKR over SRH. In Kolkata, KKR have won eight out of 11 against them.
Team Watch
Kolkata Knight Riders
Injuries/Unavailabilities: A big talking point has been Cameron Green's role, and his absence as a bowler in their opening game. Ajinkya Rahane passed the buck to Cricket Australia, who have said he could still be about 10 days away from rolling his arm over. Yet, KKR teased with a clip of him in shorts, splattering stumps with his copybook action. It's unlikely he'll do that immediately in a game with a lower-back injury though.
Nayar also mentioned Matheesha Pathirana, but without any new update, clarifying that their communication with Sri Lanka Cricket on his status and timelines has been clear, with the hope that he undergoes his fitness tests soon.
Tactics & Matchups:
Angkrish Raghvanshi continues to prove he's both exciting and dependable, and was paired up with Rinku Singh to face Varun Chakaravarthy and Sunil Narine in tandem in the nets. Rinku didn't look at his best timing against them; he carries the load of having a poor strike-rate against spin (116 in the IPL). It'll be interesting to see how he counters Harsh Dubey, praised by Daniel Vettori for his ability to "read a batter, change of pace and length," especially on pitches that aren't suitable. It's also a reminder that last year, SRH were the worst spin attack in the competition by average and economy. At the Eden Gardens, they might be tempted to bring in Zeeshan Ansari too.
Probable XII: Ajinkya Rahane (c), Finn Allen, Cameron Green, Angkrish Raghuvanshi (wk), Rinku Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Anukul Roy, Sunil Narine, Varun Chakaravarthy, Vaibhav Arora, Blessing Muzarabani, Kartik Tyagi
Sunrisers Hyderabad
Injuries/Unavailabilities: There's nothing new on the Cummins front. Brydon Carse is set to miss out as his hand injury has still not healed.
Tactics & Matchups:
Heinrich Klaasen versus the KKR spinners should be a keenly watched subplot. He's struck at 211.32 against Chakaravarthy, and 163.46 against Narine. That could add on to the pressure on Chakaravarthy, who went wicketless for the first time in 17 T20s with figures of 0-48 against Mumbai Indians. Given the spin duo's strong record at Eden Gardens, it will be an engaging battle.
Probable XII: Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan (c & wk), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Heinrich Klaasen, Salil Arora, Aniket Verma, Harsh Dubey, Harshal Patel, David Payne/Zeeshan Ansari, Jaydev Unadkat, Eshan Malinga
Did you know:
- Ishan Kishan's strike rate as captain is 165.7. Only Thisara Perera (166.27) has a higher strike rate than him among captains with 1000-plus T20 runs.
- Since 2023, Ajinkya Rahane averages 77.71 in the Powerplay, striking at 170.5, a stark difference from his pre-2023 numbers (32.52 and 114.9).
- David Payne had the most T20 wickets (304) at the time of IPL debut. The previous most was by Adil Rashid (232 wickets).
What they said:
"There is crowd support, being familiar with where you practice. It's a big thing coming to the ground knowing when you play that you know the crowd's going to support us.
"The pitch, even if we ask for something and we get it, doesn't mean the results change. Home advantage is having your fans back you regardless of what happens," Abhishek Nayar, on the pitch not being the only home advantage.
"He loves leadership, he loves being out there, and I think he can have a real positive effect on his batting and keeping, and as he gets to understand the group and the dynamic, he's going to put his mark on it, and I have no doubt that he will be a very effective leader for us," Daniel Vettori backs captain Ishan Kishan to come good in Pat Cummins' absence.
Almost exactly 24 hours before the first ball of their first home fixture, KKR's team bus stationed itself to carry back the home team from practice. Yards away, separated by a barricade and white-uniformed police, stood a small army of fans. Head coach Abhishek Nayar is banking on them, multiplied by hundreds, to re-establish KKR's home advantage, even as the perennial debate around the pitch in Kolkata (and who it favours) takes shape.
Inside, teams practiced in the arena set to be full to the brim, both reeling from a loss each in the opening game. For SRH, 201 at the Chinnaswamy Stadium wasn't really going to be enough against the defending champions. Yet, head coach Daniel Vettori called it one of their "poorer bowling performances". How their pace attack takes shape until Pat Cummins returns could define their journey, as would be the way they bounce back from their spin woes from last year.
When: Kolkata Knight Riders vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, IPL 2026, April 2, 7:30 PM IST
Where: Eden Gardens, Kolkata
What to expect: With three games in Kolkata in the space of a week, there will be a close watch on the weather. The first two games should be played under clear skies, with thunderstorms likely to (if at all) make an appearance next week.
Head to head: 20-10 for KKR over SRH. In Kolkata, KKR have won eight out of 11 against them.
Team Watch
Kolkata Knight Riders
Injuries/Unavailabilities: A big talking point has been Cameron Green's role, and his absence as a bowler in their opening game. Ajinkya Rahane passed the buck to Cricket Australia, who have said he could still be about 10 days away from rolling his arm over. Yet, KKR teased with a clip of him in shorts, splattering stumps with his copybook action. It's unlikely he'll do that immediately in a game with a lower-back injury though.
Nayar also mentioned Matheesha Pathirana, but without any new update, clarifying that their communication with Sri Lanka Cricket on his status and timelines has been clear, with the hope that he undergoes his fitness tests soon.
Tactics & Matchups:
Angkrish Raghvanshi continues to prove he's both exciting and dependable, and was paired up with Rinku Singh to face Varun Chakaravarthy and Sunil Narine in tandem in the nets. Rinku didn't look at his best timing against them; he carries the load of having a poor strike-rate against spin (116 in the IPL). It'll be interesting to see how he counters Harsh Dubey, praised by Daniel Vettori for his ability to "read a batter, change of pace and length," especially on pitches that aren't suitable. It's also a reminder that last year, SRH were the worst spin attack in the competition by average and economy. At the Eden Gardens, they might be tempted to bring in Zeeshan Ansari too.
Probable XII: Ajinkya Rahane (c), Finn Allen, Cameron Green, Angkrish Raghuvanshi (wk), Rinku Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Anukul Roy, Sunil Narine, Varun Chakaravarthy, Vaibhav Arora, Blessing Muzarabani, Kartik Tyagi
Sunrisers Hyderabad
Injuries/Unavailabilities: There's nothing new on the Cummins front. Brydon Carse is set to miss out as his hand injury has still not healed.
Tactics & Matchups:
Heinrich Klaasen versus the KKR spinners should be a keenly watched subplot. He's struck at 211.32 against Chakaravarthy, and 163.46 against Narine. That could add on to the pressure on Chakaravarthy, who went wicketless for the first time in 17 T20s with figures of 0-48 against Mumbai Indians. Given the spin duo's strong record at Eden Gardens, it will be an engaging battle.
Probable XII: Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan (c & wk), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Heinrich Klaasen, Salil Arora, Aniket Verma, Harsh Dubey, Harshal Patel, David Payne/Zeeshan Ansari, Jaydev Unadkat, Eshan Malinga
Did you know:
- Ishan Kishan's strike rate as captain is 165.7. Only Thisara Perera (166.27) has a higher strike rate than him among captains with 1000-plus T20 runs.
- Since 2023, Ajinkya Rahane averages 77.71 in the Powerplay, striking at 170.5, a stark difference from his pre-2023 numbers (32.52 and 114.9).
- David Payne had the most T20 wickets (304) at the time of IPL debut. The previous most was by Adil Rashid (232 wickets).
What they said:
"There is crowd support, being familiar with where you practice. It's a big thing coming to the ground knowing when you play that you know the crowd's going to support us.
"The pitch, even if we ask for something and we get it, doesn't mean the results change. Home advantage is having your fans back you regardless of what happens," Abhishek Nayar, on the pitch not being the only home advantage.
"He loves leadership, he loves being out there, and I think he can have a real positive effect on his batting and keeping, and as he gets to understand the group and the dynamic, he's going to put his mark on it, and I have no doubt that he will be a very effective leader for us," Daniel Vettori backs captain Ishan Kishan to come good in Pat Cummins' absence.
Squads:
Kolkata Knight Riders Squad: Ajinkya Rahane(c), Finn Allen, Cameron Green, Angkrish Raghuvanshi(w), Rinku Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Anukul Roy, Sunil Narine, Varun Chakaravarthy, Vaibhav Arora, Blessing Muzarabani, Manish Pandey, Rovman Powell, Kartik Tyagi, Saurabh Dubey, Tejasvi Dahiya, Navdeep Saini, Rachin Ravindra, Tim Seifert, Sarthak Ranjan, Prashant Solanki, Rahul Tripathi, Umran Malik, Daksh Kamra
Sunrisers Hyderabad Squad: Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan(w/c), Heinrich Klaasen, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Salil Arora, Aniket Verma, Harsh Dubey, Harshal Patel, David Payne, Jaydev Unadkat, Eshan Malinga, Shivang Kumar, Liam Livingstone, Smaran Ravichandran, Sakib Hussain, Shivam Mavi, Zeeshan Ansari, Kamindu Mendis, Brydon Carse, Praful Hinge, Krains Fuletra, Onkar Tarmale, Amit Kumar