Kolkata Knight Riders pulled off a seven-wicket victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL on Sunday, snapping SRH’s winning momentum after five straight matches. SRH were restricted to 165 in 19 overs, and KKR completed the chase with 10 balls to spare. Varun Chakravarthy led the bowling effort with three wickets, while Sunil Narine struck twice to keep the chase under control.
At a glance
- KKR beat SRH by seven wickets in the IPL on Sunday.
- SRH were all out for 165 in 19 overs.
- Varun Chakravarthy: 3 for 36 (fourth consecutive match with at least two wickets).
- Sunil Narine: 2 for 31 (reached 200 IPL wickets, in his 197th match).
- KKR chased 166 with 10 balls remaining for their third consecutive win.
- SRH’s run ended; they had won five matches in a row before this game.
Chakravarthy delivered a decisive spell, taking at least two wickets for the fourth match in succession. Narine also continued his milestone march, joining the IPL’s 200-wicket club during his 197th appearance. In doing so, he moved alongside Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who had 215 wickets from 199 matches, and Yuzvendra Chahal, who had 228 wickets from 182 games.
KKR’s chase: key contributions after an early dent
In pursuit of 166, KKR lost Finn Allen in the fourth over. Allen scored 39 off 13 balls, and the dismissal came when the team total was 49. From there, the middle overs belonged to KKR’s top order and finishers.
Ajinkya Rahane steadied the chase with 43 from 36 deliveries, while Angkrish Raghuvanshi played a knock of 59 off 47 balls. The pair put on 84 runs for the second wicket in 11 overs, turning the chase into a manageable task for the rest of the lineup.
Rahane struck four fours and one six. Raghuvanshi added five boundaries and two maximums. Rinku Singh then closed things out, finishing unbeaten on 22 off 11 balls, and the job was done with 10 balls still left in the innings.
SRH innings: strong start, then a collapse
Earlier, SRH began their batting with intent after opting to set a target. They reached 77 for 1 in the powerplay, and at the halfway mark they were 107 for 2, with Travis Head carrying the momentum by scoring 61 off 28 balls. Ishan Kishan also contributed with 42 off 29 balls.
However, SRH paid for losing momentum as wickets fell rapidly. They suffered a collapse in the final 10 overs, losing nine wickets for 60 runs. It was also a notable first for the franchise in this tournament—SRH were bowled out for the first time in IPL 2026.
Kartik Tyagi was among the key wicket-takers, finishing with figures of 2 for 30. Head’s batting had been a significant factor up to that point, as he struck nine fours and three sixes.
Head and Abhishek Sharma stitched together a 44-run stand in 3.4 overs, with Abhishek making 15 off 10 balls. Head also shared a 61-run partnership with Kishan, building SRH’s platform before the late tumble.
Head’s spell and the turning point
Head struck four boundaries in Vaibhav Arora’s second over. He then hit a six and a four off Narine in the third over, followed by three fours against Cameron Green in the fifth over.
But the innings shifted when Chakravarthy dismissed Head on the last ball of the ninth over. After that wicket, SRH struggled to regain control and were left chasing totals that kept getting away.
Heinrich Klaasen made 11 runs before being dismissed when Rovman Powell took a catch at deep midwicket off Cameron Green. Klaasen injured himself during the moment of dismissal, and it also marked the lowest score of his season.
With the batting order unable to recover, SRH ultimately failed to hold the line they had set early on. KKR, led by disciplined bowling from Chakravarthy and Narine, used that late collapse to secure their third consecutive win.
