Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will host Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in match 6 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 at the iconic Eden Gardens on Thursday, April 2.

Both teams didn’t get the start they wanted this season and now they will be looking to turn things around quickly in this clash.

KKR vs SRH match preview

KKR, led by Ajinkya Rahane, had a disappointing outing in their previous game where their bowling unit looked completely exposed. They failed to defend a strong total of 220 runs against Mumbai Indians, and that will worry them a bit going ahead. Even in this match, they are likely to go in without some of their main bowlers like Matheesha Pathirana, so the attack still feels slightly inexperienced.

Their batting did show some good signs. Rahane looked in control and played a neat knock, while youngster Angkrish Raghuvanshi also impressed. KKR will also rely a lot on their spin strength, with Varun Chakravarthy expected to play a big role at Eden Gardens.

Talking about SRH, their story was quite similar in the first game. They also failed to defend a 200 plus total against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, and the chase looked a bit too easy in the end. Still, their batting had enough positives.

Ishan Kishan looked in very good touch and dominated the bowlers with ease. But they would want more runs from the top, especially from Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head. One big positive was Aniket Verma, who played a fearless knock and caught everyone’s attention.

Bowling is where SRH will have to rethink a few things. With Pat Cummins not available, players like Harshal Patel and Jaydev Unadkat need to come in with clearer plans.

KKR vs SRH head-to-head record in IPL

• Total Matches: 29
• KKR Wins: 19
• SRH Wins:9
• Tie/NR: 1

KKR vs SRH pitch report

Eden Gardens is usually a good batting wicket. The ball comes nicely onto the bat and with a fast outfield, runs tend to flow quickly. We have seen quite a few high scoring games here over the years. Spinners might get some help later on, but overall it still looks like a proper run scoring surface.

KKR vs SRH key players

Ishan Kishan (SRH) – Kishan is in red hot form in white ball cricket. His 80 off 38 in the last match just showed how dangerous he can be once he gets going.

Finn Allen (KKR) – Allen can change the game in a few overs. He got a start last time, now he would want to make it count properly.

Aniket Verma (SRH) – The youngster looked very confident in his first outing. His hitting in the middle overs could be very important again.

Varun Chakravarthy (KKR) – Varun did not have the best time earlier but he remains a key bowler. On this surface, his variations can trouble batters.

KKR vs SRH predicted playing XIs

Kolkata Knight Riders: Finn Allen, Ajinkya Rahane(c), Cameron Green, Angkrish Raghuvanshi(w), Rinku Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Anukul Roy, Sunil Narine, Varun Chakaravarthy, Vaibhav Arora, Blessing Muzarabani.

Sunrisers Hyderabad: Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan(w/c), Heinrich Klaasen, Aniket Verma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Salil Arora, Harsh Dubey, Harshal Patel, Jaydev Unadkat, Eshan Malinga.

KKR vs SRH match prediction

Both teams look quite similar if you see closely. Strong batting lineups but bowling still looks a bit shaky and inexperienced at places. That’s where this game might be decided.

KKR still have that advantage of spin options and they know these conditions well. SRH depend a lot on their batting firepower, but if things don’t go their way early, it can get tricky.

Prediction: Kolkata Knight Riders are likely to win this match

KKR vs SRH: Big hitters, weak bowling, who cracks first at Eden?