IPL 2026 | Reality check for SRH: Strong start goes in vain as KKR cruise to third win on the trot

HYDERABAD : It was as if Sunrisers Hyderabad skipper Pat Cummins had a premonition of the seven–wicket defeat when he said, “it’s very unlikely we’re going to win every single game for the rest of the season,” at the toss.

For, the toss was the only thing that went right for the hosts, as the Kolkata Knight Riders’ spin twins Varun Chakravarthy (3/36) and Sunil Narine (2/31) did the rest on a very hot day when the players would have been excused if they wanted to be someplace else than the Rajiv Gandhi International stadium.

The raucous cheers of the Sunday crowd as the Sunrisers cruised to 71/1 in the powerplay — identical for both teams — was soon silenced as Chakravarthy, back in the side after being the impact player in the previous match, derailed the innings by dismissing Travis Head (61; 28b, 9x4, 3x6).

Chakravarthy, who conceded 29 in the first two overs, turned on the screws in his second spell of 2-0-7-2 as the Sunrisers lost eight wickets for 58 runs to collapse between overs 11 and 19 and be dismissed for 165. It was way below par — KKR replied with 169/3 — and bucked the trend of the last three matches between the teams since 2025, when the team batting first scored upwards of 200 and won by margins of 80, 110 and 65 runs.

The 61-run stand for the second wicket between Head and Ishan Kishan (42; 29b, 4x4, 2x6) was the sole bright spot for the Sunrisers and a reality check, if they needed after five consecutive wins, of a soft underbelly that their middle order is when Heinrich Klaasen fails to come good.

The South African mainstay of the SRH batting fell to a stunning onehanded catch by Rovman Powell, diving full length to his right at midwicket after Klaasen carted Cameron Green for 10 in the previous two deliveries, and with an indisposed Nitish Reddy missing, the back end of the innings lacked the drive that took them to 107/2 at the halfway stage.

The KKR batters complemented the excellent show of their bowlers on a strip tailormade for batting. Impact player Finn Allen, who replaced fellow New Zealander Tim Seifert in the XI, missed out after smashing Cummins for 27 runs in the fourth over but skipper Ajinkya Rahane’s calm presence was all that Kolkata needed as they chased down the target in 18.2 overs for their third straight victory.

Though the skipper fell for 43 (36b, 4x4, 1x6) on threshold of victory, his 84–run (66b) partnership for the second wicket with Angkrish Raghuvanshi (59; 47b, 5x4, 2x6) ensured there were no more hiccups.