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.
In their previous game against KKR, they outclassed the Knights by 65 runs.
SRH’s strongest playing XI against KKR:
Top Order: Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan (wk)
SRH’s top order needs no introduction. The explosive partnership of Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head gets all gun blazing for SRH in the initial overs. Abhishek Sharma, after a dry patch in the T20 World Cup 2026, has regained his form in IPL, scoring 425 runs in nine matches with 3 fifties and a century. He is currently the second-highest run getter of the tournament. Travis Head has contributed 262 runs this season, and Ishan Kishan has scored 312 runs this season, with 3 fifties providing more strength to the top order.
Middle Order: Heinrich Klassen, Salil Arora, Aniket Verma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Pat Cummins(c), Harsh Dubey
Klassen has been in sublime form this season, being one of the highlights for the Orange Army in 2026. He has amassed 414 runs with 4 fifties to date. Nitish Kumar Reddy hasn’t been that impressive with a stellar performance, only scoring 193 runs and scalping six wickets. Pat Cummins have recently joined the squad and will give them good leadership and add balance to the bowling side.
Bowlers: Parful Hinge, Eshan Mallinga, Sakib Hussain
Starting the season with weak bowling, SRH had made a huge comeback with youngsters Praful Hing and Sakib Hussain. Praful has taken a total of 8 wickets in 4 matches, and Sakib Hussain has also taken 8 wickets in 5 games. But their star bowler has been Eshan Mallinga with 15 wickets in nine games.
Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH): Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan(w), Heinrich Klaasen, Salil Arora, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Pat Cummins(c), Harsh Dubey, Sakib Hussain, Praful Hinge, Eshan Malinga.
Impact Player Options: Aniket Verma, Liam Livingstone.
