SRH soar past KKR as Rahane’s men slump to 65-run home defeat
Sunrisers Hyderabad secured their first IPL 2026 win with a dominant 65-run victory over Kolkata Knight Riders. Despite a strong bowling comeback restricting SRH to 226/8, KKR's batters faltered, being bowled out for 161. Key performances included Finn Allen's explosive start and Angkrish Raghuvanshi's half-century, but ultimately, SRH's bowling proved too strong.
KOLKATA: If the bowlers let Kolkata Knight Riders down in their first match against Mumbai Indians, it was their batters who faltered to hand a 65-run victory to Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Eden Gardens here on Thursday. It was Sunrisers’ first win in this IPL. The Knights’ depleted bowling attack made a great comeback to restrict SRH to 226 for eight after their skipper Ajinkya Rahane, playing his 200th IPL match, won the toss and decided to field first.
But their batters put up a dismal show and despite some poor fielding by SRH, they could not bat out their full quota of overs, being bowled out for 161 runs in 16 overs. Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!
New Zealander Finn Allen seemed happy to be back where he scored an unbeaten 100 off 33 balls against South Africa in the T20 World Cup semifinal by hitting SRH pacer David Payne for 25 runs in the first over, smashing two fours and three sixes. But left-arm spinner Harsh Dubey’s great caught-and-bowled effort cut short the KKR impact player’s 28-run innings, which came in just seven balls. The hosts got their quickest 50 in the IPL off just 3.
2 overs, but losing Rahane and Cameron Green in quick succession brought SRH back into the game. Angkrish Raghuvanshi stood tall getting his second 50 in as many games off 27 balls, but once the youngster and Rinku Singh perished, KKR’s hopes faded. Much was expected of Ramandeep Singh, especially in the absence of Andre Russell, but the Punjab batter could manage just 10 runs.