Sunrisers Hyderabad secured their first win of IPL 2026 in emphatic fashion, defeating Kolkata Knight Riders by 65 runs at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Thursday.
Defending a formidable total of 226, SRH produced a clinical bowling display to bundle out KKR for 161 in just 16 overs. Jaydev Unadkat led the charge with three wickets, while Nitish Kumar Reddy chipped in with two crucial breakthroughs to keep the hosts under constant pressure.
KKR’s chase never quite gained momentum after early setbacks. Ajinkya Rahane fell cheaply for 8, continuing his struggles against Unadkat, who dismissed him for the fifth time in nine innings. Finn Allen looked explosive with a quickfire 28 off just seven balls but was removed by Harsh Dubey in the second over.
A brief fightback came through Angkrish Raghuvanshi and Rinku Singh, who stitched together a promising partnership. Raghuvanshi scored a brisk 52 off 29 balls, while Rinku contributed 35 off 25. However, a costly mix-up led to Raghuvanshi’s run-out, triggering another collapse.
Reddy further dented KKR’s hopes by dismissing Rinku and removing Anukul Roy for a duck. Cameron Green also fell cheaply after a miscommunication, as wickets continued to tumble.
Earlier, Heinrich Klaasen anchored SRH’s innings with a well-compiled 52, guiding the team to 226/8. He was eventually dismissed in the final over by Blessing Muzarabani, who impressed with a four-wicket haul.
SRH’s strong start was set up by openers Travis Head (46) and Abhishek Sharma (48), who laid a solid foundation. Head was dismissed by Kartik Tyagi, while Abhishek fell just short of a half-century, becoming Muzarabani’s second wicket.
Ishan Kishan struggled to make an impact, scoring 14 before also falling to Muzarabani.
After winning the toss, KKR had opted to bowl first, but SRH’s aggressive batting display and disciplined bowling proved too strong on the day.
With this victory, Sunrisers Hyderabad not only opened their account in IPL 2026 but also sent a strong message to the rest of the competition.