KKR vs SRH IPL 2026: Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad will both be desperate for their first win of IPL 2026 when they face each other at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata today.
Both teams have strong batting line-ups, so the side that performs better with the ball could hold the advantage in this contest. KKR will be hoping their spinners regain form, while SRH will need to improve their bowling attack significantly.
KKR’s tough schedule ahead
After this match, KKR have four away games before returning to Eden Gardens on May 16. The iconic venue has been a fortress for them, with 54 wins out of 95 matches played here since 2008. However, their bowling attack looks weakened due to injuries. Harshit Rana and Akash Deep are sidelined, while Matheesha Pathirana is still waiting for NOC from Sri Lanka Cricket. Cameron Green, bought for a massive Rs 25.20 crore, is currently available only as a batter.
KKR’s spin bowling concerns
KKR’s bowling struggled in the first match against Mumbai Indians, where they failed to defend 220. Rohit Sharma and Ryan Rickelton added 148 runs in just 72 balls. The poor form of key spinners Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy is a major worry for the team.
Rovman Powell may get a chance
Green scored 18 off 10 balls in the first match but did not bowl due to instructions from Cricket Australia. With Green unavailable for bowling, KKR may consider including West Indies power-hitter Rovman Powell in the playing XI. Powell had a strong T20 World Cup, scoring 149 runs at a strike rate of 147.52, including an unbeaten 34 off 19 balls against India at this very ground.
SRH’s bowling concerns
Sunrisers Hyderabad are in a similar situation after starting their campaign with a loss to defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru. While their top order featuring Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, and Travis Head is explosive, the absence of regular captain Pat Cummins has weakened their bowling attack. They failed to defend 201 against RCB. Cummins has started bowling in the nets and could join the team in a few weeks. In his absence, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Jaydev Unadkat, Harshal Patel, and Ishan Malinga will need to step up.
Head-to-Head record
Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad have faced each other 30 times in the IPL. KKR have won 20 matches, while SRH have won 10.
Squads
Kolkata Knight Riders: Ajinkya Rahane (c), Rinku Singh (vc), Finn Allen, Tejasvi Dahiya, Manish Pandey, Rovman Powell, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Ramandeep Singh, Sarthak Ranjan, Tim Seifert, Rahul Tripathi, Daksh Kamra, Cameron Green, Sunil Narine, Rachin Ravindra, Varun Chakravarthy, Anukul Roy, Vaibhav Arora, Saurabh Dubey, Kartik Tyagi, Blessing Muzarabani, Navdeep Saini, Prashant Solanki, Umran Malik
Sunrisers Hyderabad: Ishan Kishan (c), Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma(vc), Aniket Verma, R. Smaran, Heinrich Klaasen, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harsh Dubey, Kamindu Mendis, Harshal Patel, Brydon Carse, Jaydev Unadkat, Ishan Malinga, Zeeshan Ansari, Liam Livingstone, Shivam Mavi, Salil Arora, Shivang Kumar, Omkar Tarmale, Krunal Pandya, Prafull Hinge, Amit Kumar, Sakib Hussain, Jack Edwards, Pat Cummins
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