A red ball streaking and jagging through the Hyderabad nets wasn’t the most typical sight for an IPL practice session, but it was exactly the point for Praful Hinge. The fast bowler kept attacking a small target of stumps, shaping the shiny SG ball so it moved off the seam, drill after drill, as if to remind himself that swing and seam with the new ball are still his best calling card in T20 cricket—and, just as importantly, the quickest route to earning overs against his next opponent. For Kolkata Knight Riders, the bigger story this season has been instability at the top: their first three batters have produced the worst batting average in the competition and the second-lowest strike rate. No matter how the batting order has been rearranged—going back to Sunil Narine as an opener at one stage before later pushing him down into the lower middle—the franchise has yet to settle on an opening combination that brings either rhythm or consistency. That challenge has not been helped by Ajinkya Rahane’s role at the top, with the captain currently operating higher in the order than his form would ideally suggest.
Hinge, however, despite a noticeable dip in returns after a dream debut, still gives Sunrisers Hyderabad a plausible option to press those early concerns with disciplined bowling and pressure from ball one. Over on the adjacent practice strip, Narine looked like he was once again trying to stake a claim for the opening spot. He spent a long session batting, much of it focused on finding timing and placement around a ground that’s marginally bigger than Eden Gardens, where the spacing between boundaries changes the geometry of T20 shots. Finn Allen then appeared soon after, continuing the theme of experimentation at the top that has been present throughout earlier parts of the season. Allen’s switch—like-for-like—to Tim Seifert has not helped matters much, since Seifert has been out for ducks in each of his last two outings.
Even with the ongoing turbulence above the middle overs, KKR’s latest momentum is hard to ignore: they have now stitched together back-to-back wins. This match also arrives after an unusual gap in a season that has often felt relentless, with KKR set to play only their second game in two weeks. That breather seems to have helped them reset, and now they face a Sunrisers side that has gone on a five-match winning run across home and away venues. The nets on Saturday also suggested the hosts know precisely where to apply the earliest pressure.
When: Sunday, 3 May 2026, at 3:30 PM local time
Where: Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad
What to expect: Hyderabad is likely to be extremely hot in the middle, with forecasts pointing to temperatures around 40 degrees during the afternoon. The match is set to be played on Pitch #3, which has already hosted fixtures involving RR and CSK earlier this season. Both of those encounters were decided under lights, and in each case the side chasing successfully batted first. That could hint at a slower surface, but in IPL—especially in Hyderabad—anything that looks like a “slow pitch” has not consistently translated into modest totals. A return to huge scores is always a possibility, even when conditions are not traditionally batter-friendly.
Head to head: SRH 11 – 20 KKR. In Hyderabad, the record sits at 4-3 in favour of KKR.
Team watch
Sunrisers Hyderabad
Injuries/Unavailability: Assistant coach James Franklin confirmed that there are no injuries to report from the camp.
Tactics & Matchups: If Narine is not used as an opener, KKR’s batting card becomes noticeably skewed towards the right side. That shape could help Harsh Dubey retain his place ahead of Shivang Kumar, despite Shivang Kumar’s expensive outing against MI at the Wankhede. Another matchup to watch closely is Heinrich Klaasen, who has been particularly dangerous against Varun Chakaravarthy, striking at over 205 while scoring his runs. Klaasen is also the only batter to have accumulated more than 100 T20 runs against Narine without once getting dismissed, underlining how specific that contest could become inside the powerplay and the early middle overs.
Probable XII: Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan (w), Heinrich Klaasen, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Salil Arora, Aniket Verma, Pat Cummins (c), Harsh Dubey, Sakib Hussain, Praful Hinge, Eshan Malinga
Kolkata Knight Riders
Injuries/Unavailability: Matheesha Pathirana is fit and available, but the key question is whether he will be included in the playing XI. Bowling coach Tim Southee kept the decision under wraps, stating that the pacer is “bowling well at training” and that the final call will come after assessing the conditions.
Tactics & Matchups: If Pathirana does play, KKR will face a tricky selection puzzle. They may need to sacrifice an overseas opener or, alternatively, drop Rovman Powell. Depending on that outcome, Rahul Tripathi or wicketkeeper-batter Tejasvi Dahiya could enter the mix—but it remains unclear whether KKR want to disrupt a side that is currently learning how to win. The nets also did not offer clear signs that either Tripathi or Dahiya is a certainty. Another factor is how Vaibhav Arora fares with the new ball, especially given that he has a favourable matchup against Abhishek Sharma. Meanwhile, the Narine-versus-Head contest is another subplot: Travis Head has scored against Narine at a strike rate of 95.45, so KKR will likely consider how to use Narine’s overs most effectively in the first phases, where batters look to set the tempo early.
Probable XII: Ajinkya Rahane (c), Tim Seifert (w), Cameron Green, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Rovman Powell, Rinku Singh, Sunil Narine, Ramandeep Singh, Anukul Roy, Vaibhav Arora, Kartik Tyagi, Varun Chakaravarthy
Did you know? This season, the average for top-three batters stands at 34.5, which is almost twice KKR’s figure of 18.78. In the last three matches, Ajinkya Rahane has averaged 3.33 while maintaining a strike rate of 55.5.
What they said
“It’s a great opportunity for the bowlers against such a dangerous side. Yes, the bowlers have to find ways to be successful and we have bowlers like Sunil Narine who can do that” — Tim Southee, KKR bowling coach
“Klassy has come fresh into this IPL and is playing amazingly well down the order to help the team’s cause” — James Franklin, SRH assistant coach
