Sunrisers Hyderabad will lock horns with Kolkata Knight Riders in match no 45 of IPL 2026 at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium on Sunday, May 3.
SRH fumbled at the start of the tournament, but they made a comeback ever since the match against RR and are now positioned at third spot in the IPL points table with 6 wins and 3 losses. They must be in great momentum after 5 wins in a row. Their whole explosive batting line has returned in form, and their weak link bowling has actually been the reason for their comeback after the scenarios have changed.
KKR, on the other hand, has had a terrible season so far. Only having 2 wins from 8 matches played, they are now positioned 7th at the points table. From bowling to batting, all their department have performed poorly this season with clueless captaincy and no stern decision from management to even give a chance to their youngsters. Although the Knights have won their last two game thanks to their spin duo Sunil Narine, Varun Chakaravarthy and Rinku Singh.
KKR’s playing XI against SRH:
Top Order : Ajinkya Rahane(c), Sunil Narine, Angkrish Raghuvanshi
Rahane has not been in form with his willow, with consistently low scores; his batting has been a grave drawbrack for KKR in the powerplay. Seifert has been given a chance but has been unable to play impactful innings; he can be replaced by Maheesh Pathirana in the squad. KKR might go back to Narine for opening. Narine, their MVP, is one of the positives this season as he is averaging 6.67 with the ball, and he was even brilliant in the Super Over last game against LSG. Angkrish Raghuvanshi will be the wicketkeeper batsman choice, although he started the season with two fifties, but his current form and slow innings have affected KKR.
Middle Order: Cameron Green, Rovman Powell, Rinku Singh, Ramandeep Singh
After a fumbled start in the season, Cameron Green has been in sublime touch in the recent matches. He has also been handy with the ball in some games, although expensive, and picked up 2 crucial wickets. Although Rinku Singh didn’t have a great start to the season, in the last two games, he has been phenomenal, and that's why KKR won. Against mighty RR, his and Anukul Roy’s innings helped KKR achieve its first win of the season. In the next match against LSG, Rinku was the MVP as he scored 50+, his highest IPL score and took 5 incredible catches to bring KKR back in the game. Ramandeep Singh has been the weakest link in the middle order, with no impact.
Bowlers: Vaibhav Arora, Kartik Tyagi, Varun Chakravarthy, Maheesh Pathirana
KKR’s bowling unit was under concern when, even before starting the season, Harshit Rana and Akash Deep were ruled out for injury concerns, and Mustafizur Rahman didn’t get NOC. Vaibhav Arora has been the costliest bowler, leaking runs, although in the last game against LSG, he bowled 4 overs and gave 24 runs. Kartik Tyagi has been sensational for KKR, picking up 9 wickets in 7 innings at an economy of 9.68. Varun Chakravarthy has been suffering from a good form since the T20 World Cup 2026 and fumbled in the first few games, but since the last two games, he has regained his form, taking 7 wickets now in 6 games. Pathirana missed the first few games due to injury, but he might finally make a place in the squad today. KKR is missing a good death over pacer, and Pathirana might just be the missing link.
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR): Ajinkya Rahane(c), Tim Seifert(w), Cameron Green, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Rovman Powell, Rinku Singh, Sunil Narine, Ramandeep Singh, Anukul Roy, Vaibhav Arora, Kartik Tyagi.
Impact Player Options: Varun Chakravarthy, Manish Pandey.
