SRH beat KKR by 65 runs, secure their first win

Kolkata: A clinical show from Sunrisers Hyderabad, which included quickfire knocks from Heinrich Klaasen and Abhishek Sharma and fine bowling performances from Jaydev Unadkat, Eshan Malinga and Nitish Kumar Reddy helped them achieve their first win of the 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL), beating Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by 65 runs at Kolkata on Thursday.

Put to field first, SRH posted 226/8, with Heinrich Klaasen (52 in 35 balls, with four boundaries and a six), Abhishek Sharma (48 in 21 balls, with four boundaries and four sixes) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (39 in 24 balls, with four boundaries and a six). KKR started off chasing fine with Finn Allen (28 in seven balls, with three sixes and two sixes) and Angkrish Raghuvanshi (52 in 29 balls, with six fours and two sixes), but fizzled out quickly to bundle out for 161 in 16 overs.

During the run-chase of 227 runs, Finn Allen started by smoking David Payne for 25 runs in the first over itself, with three fours and two sixes. However, after a boundary against Harsh Dubey, he fell to the spinner for a seven-ball 28 (with four boundaries and two sixes). KKR was 29/1 in 1.3 overs.

Angkrish Raghuvanshi collected runs in a free-flowing manner against spin, smashing Abhishek Sharma for two sixes and Harsh Dubey for a four. KKR reached the 50-run mark in 3.2 overs. The right-hander got two successive fours against Jaydev Unadkat in the fifth over.

KKR’s happy run ended with an absolutely nothing shot from skipper Ajinkya Rahane, who was dismissed by Unadkat with a catch from Eshan Malinga. KKR was 67/2 in five overs.

KKR’s power play ended on a poor note with Cameron Green involved in a very unfortunate run-out for just two runs. KKR ended at 74/3 in six overs.

Raghuvanshi was joined by Rinku Singh, and the duo rotated strike well with a few boundaries in between, reaching the 100-run mark in 8.5 overs. Raghuvanshi brought up his back-to-back fifties in 27 balls, with six fours and two sixes. Halfway through, KKR was 110/3, with Raghuvanshi (51*) and Rinku (16*) unbeaten.

The 46-run stand between the duo ended, with Raghuvanshi run out for a 29-ball 52. KKR was 120/4 in 11 overs.

After Raghuvanshi’s wicket, KKR lost their way, losing Anukul Roy (0), Rinku Singh (35 in 25 balls, with four boundaries and a six), Sunil Narine (12 in four balls) and Ramandeep Singh (10 in nine balls), sinking to 159/8 in 15 overs.

KKR’s downfall continued, with Kartik Tyagi gone for five runs to Unadkat. KKR was 161/9 in 15.5 overs. Varun Chakravarthy was the last one to fall to Unadkat (3/21) as KKR was all out for 161 runs in 16 overs.

Eshan (2/14) and Nitish (2/17) were among the wickets for SRH as well.

Earlier, a brilliant half-century from Heinrich Klaasen and fiery knocks of Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma helped Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) post a daunting total of 226/8.