Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will host SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) in match number 6 of the ongoing IPL 2026 on Thursday, April 2. The contest begins at Eden Gardens at 7:30 pm IST.
Both sides are yet to get off the mark on the points table. Kolkata suffered a six-wicket defeat to Mumbai Indians (MI) in their opening clash. They failed to defend a 221-run target in the away fixture. The Ajinkya Rahane-led side are currently placed seventh in the table with a net run rate of -0.687.
Hyderabad, on the other hand, lost to Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) away from home, with RCB chasing down the 202-run target in just 15.4 overs. Ishan Kishan and Co. are languishing at the ninth spot in the standings and have a poor net run rate of -2.907.
KKR have the upper hand over SRH in the head-to-head record with a lead of 20-10. Notably, Kolkata have eight wins to their name against Hyderabad from 11 matches at Eden Gardens. A closely fought battle is on the cards as the two teams look to claim their maiden win of the season.
Let’s take a look at three interesting matchups to watch out for in the KKR vs SRH clash.
#3 Sunil Narine (KKR) vs Abhishek Sharma (SRH)
Veteran spinner Sunil Narine has enjoyed great success at Eden Gardens. With 72 scalps, he is the leading wicket-taker at the venue in T20 cricket. Skipper Ajinkya Rahane could be tempted to use the 37-year-old early against opener Abhishek Sharma.
The left-handed batter visibly struggled against off-spin in the 2026 T20 World Cup, with three dismissals from six innings and just 26 runs off 24 balls. That said, Abhishek has dominated Narine in the past. The swashbuckling batter has slammed 54 runs from 25 balls at a strike rate of 204, while getting out just once to the mystery spinner.
#2 Ajinkya Rahane (KKR) vs Jaydev Unadkat (SRH)
Ajinkya Rahane notched up a fine half-century against MI. The senior player scored 67 runs off 40 balls and looked in impressive touch. However, he will be up against Jaydev Unadkat, who has troubled him on multiple occasions.
The left-arm pacer has dismissed Rahane four times in six innings. The Kolkata captain has managed 35 runs off 34 balls at an underwhelming strike rate of 102.94 against the Saurashtra bowler.
#1 Rinku Singh (KKR) vs Harshal Patel (SRH)
KKR will rely on Rinku Singh for fireworks at the back end of the innings. He played a crucial unbeaten 33-run knock off 21 balls against MI in the team’s inaugural match.
His contest with SRH pacer Harshal Patel is expected to be an exciting one. Harshal has proved himself as a death-over specialist over the years and will back his variations to counter Rinku’s power-hitting.
The batter has lost his wicket to Harshal twice in four innings but has also hit 47 runs off 26 balls at a strike rate of 180.76.
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Edited by Aditya Suketu Desai