Varun Chakravarthy and Sunil Narine combined effectively on a slow Hyderabad surface to end Sunrisers Hyderabad’s five-match winning streak in IPL 2026, as Kolkata Knight Riders claimed a seven-wicket victory.
The KKR spinners shared five wickets, triggering a collapse that saw SRH slip from 105 for 1 in the ninth over to 165 all out in 19 overs. Narine also reached a milestone during the innings, becoming part of the IPL’s 200-wicket club.
In response, KKR chased down the target with ten balls remaining, registering their third consecutive win. Angkrish Raghuvanshi led the effort with a career-best 59 off 47 balls.
Head Sets Early Momentum
Travis Head provided a strong start for SRH after they opted to bat, striking four boundaries in a single over off Vaibhav Arora. He continued the attack against Narine, hitting a six over square leg and a four over mid-on.
Despite Head’s aggression, Narine maintained control early, conceding only nine runs in the opening over while bowling the first over for just the fourth time in his IPL career.
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Head reached his half-century in 22 balls and drove SRH past 70 in the powerplay. Although Kartik Tyagi dismissed Abhishek Sharma with a pacey delivery, Head kept the scoring rate high.
Spin Turns the Game
Head’s dismissal in the ninth over, caught off Varun Chakravarthy after scoring 61, marked a turning point. Varun followed it up by removing R Smaran, who was making his debut in place of the unwell Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Aniket Verma.
As the pitch slowed, SRH’s batters struggled to adapt, continuing with their attacking approach but losing wickets regularly. Heinrich Klaasen made a brief start before being dismissed for 11, courtesy of a one-handed catch from Rovman Powell.
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Narine added to the pressure, claiming his 200th IPL wicket when he dismissed Salil Arora with a delivery that turned away to hit the top of off stump. He then removed Ishan Kishan for 42, leaving SRH at 148 for 7 in 16 overs. They added only 17 more runs before being bowled out.
KKR Build Strong Chase
KKR’s chase began aggressively with Finn Allen, who replaced Tim Seifert, attacking Pat Cummins with multiple boundaries and sixes. Cummins, however, dismissed Allen after his quick start.
KKR reached 71 in the powerplay, one of their highest totals in that phase this season. Ajinkya Rahane and Raghuvanshi then stabilised the innings, building an 84-run partnership.
Rahane scored 43 off 36 balls before falling to Sakib Hussain, while Raghuvanshi continued to anchor the chase until he was dismissed by Shivang Kumar.
With the required rate under control, Rinku Singh and Cameron Green guided KKR to the target without further trouble, completing the chase with seven wickets in hand and ten balls remaining.
