IPL 2026: SRH eye sixth straight win as KKR seek revival in Sunday afternoon clash

Sunrisers Hyderabad will back their formidable batting depth to keep the momentum going when they face three-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders in Sunday’s afternoon IPL clash at the Eden Gardens here, with confidence high in the SRH camp after a dominant run of results.

With five consecutive wins, SRH have surged to third on the table with 12 points from nine matches, a position built largely on the consistency and firepower of their top order.

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The team’s batting unit has clicked as a collective, with Abhishek Sharma and Heinrich Klaasen emerging among the tournament’s leading run-scorers, while Ishan Kishan has added explosiveness in the middle, often shifting the tempo in SRH’s favour.

Travis Head’s return to form, highlighted by a fluent 76 in a successful chase against Mumbai Indians, has further strengthened the top order.

Contributions from Nitish Kumar Reddy and Salil Arora have added depth, ensuring SRH are not overly reliant on any one batter.

On the bowling front, the return of captain Pat Cummins has provided balance and leadership. Alongside him, Praful Hinge, Eshan Malinga, Reddy and Sakib Hussain have combined effectively, giving SRH a well-rounded attack. Their earlier 65-run win over KKR at Eden Gardens also adds to their confidence heading into the fixture.

Kolkata Knight Riders, meanwhile, approach the game looking to build on a late resurgence. After a difficult stretch, they have managed back-to-back wins, but remain eighth in the standings and under pressure to string together a consistent run.

Under Ajinkya Rahane, KKR have shown glimpses of intent, with the skipper contributing useful knocks, but the team has struggled to find cohesion. Questions remain around team combinations, including whether Rachin Ravindra will be brought into the playing XI after spending much of the season on the sidelines.

The batting unit has yet to fully deliver, with Finn Allen, Tim Seifert and others failing to meet expectations, while players like Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Cameron Green and Rovman Powell are still searching for form.

Injuries and inconsistency have also affected their bowling attack, with Varun Chakravarthy yet to make a significant impact.

KKR have leaned heavily on domestic names such as Anukul Roy, Vaibhav Arora and Kartik Tyagi, but will need a more complete performance against a confident SRH side.

Squads

Sunrisers Hyderabad: Pat Cummins (c), Salil Arora (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Travis Head, Ravichandran Ashwin, Aniket Verma, Abhishek Sharma, Harsh Dubey, Krains Fuletra, Liam Livingstone, Kamindu Mendis, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshal Patel, Shivam Mavi, Shivang Kumar, Amit Kumar, Gerald Coetzee, Praful Hinge, Sakib Hussain, Dilshan Madushanka, Eshan Malinga, Onkar Tarnale, Jaydev Unadkat, Zeeshan Ansari.

Kolkata Knight Riders: Ajinkya Rahane (c), Manish Pandey, Rovman Powell, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Ramandeep Singh, Rinku Singh, Sunil Narine, Anukul Roy, Vaibhav Arora, Umran Malik, Varun Chakaravarthy, Cameron Green, Matheesha Pathirana, Rahul Tripathi, Tim Seifert, Tejasvi Dahiya, Rachin Ravindra, Akash Deep, Blessing Muzarabani, Navdeep Saini, Prashant Solanki, Finn Allen, Daksh Kamra, Kartik Tyagi, Sarthak Ranjan, Saurabh Dubey.