SRH vs KKR preview: Hyderabad eye top spot, Kolkata look to stay alive; check head-to-head, pitch report, more

Sunrisers Hyderabad will host Kolkata Knight Riders at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad on Sunday, 3 May, at 3:30 PM IST in Match 45 of IPL 2026.

SRH are in a solid position with 12 points from 9 matches. The Orange Army has won all of their last 5 matches. They are ranked 3rd on the points table.

Kolkata had a disappointing start to the tournament. After going winless in their first 6 matches, they picked up momentum and won 2 consecutive games. With 5 points, they are at Number 8.

Match Logistics

The game is at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad, on Sunday, 3 May, at 3:30 PM IST, with the toss at 3 PM IST. The match will be broadcast live on Star Sports and streamed on JioHotstar.

Head-to-Head Record

SRH and KKR have met 31 times in the IPL. KKR lead the head-to-head convincingly with 20 wins. SRH have won just 11 times. KKR's highest score in this fixture is 208. SRH have posted a massive 278, their highest against KKR.

Recent momentum, however, belongs firmly to SRH. They have won the last 2 meetings. In their first encounter in the IPL 2026, SRH beat KKR by 65 runs at Eden Gardens. In May 2025, SRH posted 278/3 and won by 110 runs.

KKR dominated in 2024, winning 3 times, including the IPL final by 8 wickets.

David Warner holds the most runs in this rivalry with 619 in 15 innings. His highest score was 126 off 59 balls in 2017. Andre Russell leads all wicket-takers with 25 scalps. Best bowling figures belong to Karn Sharma with 4/38. None of these players is part of the squads anymore.

Predicted Playing XI

Sunrisers Hyderabad: Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Heinrich Klaasen, Salil Arora, Pat Cummins, Harsh Dubey, Eshan Malinga, Praful Hinge, Sakib Hussain, Aniket Verma (Impact Player)

Kolkata Knight Riders: Ajinkya Rahane, Finn Allen, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Cameron Green, Rovman Powell, Rinku Singh, Sunil Narine, Ramandeep Singh, Anukul Roy, Vaibhav Arora, Kartik Tyagi, Varun Chakravarthy (Impact Player)

Team News

SRH have signed 17-year-old all-rounder RS Ambrish as a replacement for Shivam Mavi. Mavi has been ruled out for the rest of IPL 2026 with a groin injury. Ambrish was the joint-highest wicket-taker for India at the 2026 U-19 World Cup. He could feature immediately to boost SRH's pace options.

David Payne was previously signed to replace the injured Jack Edwards. Captain Pat Cummins has returned to full fitness.

Matheesha Pathirana is likely to make his KKR debut today after recovering from a calf strain. Bowling coach Tim Southee confirmed he has trained well and cleared fitness protocols.

Harshit Rana and Akash Deep remain out for the season with knee and back injuries, respectively. Saurabh Dubey has been signed to replace Akash Deep.

Key Players to Watch

Abhishek Sharma is second in the Orange Cap race this season. He has scored 425 runs in 9 matches at a strike rate above 209. He is SRH's primary powerplay threat.

Travis Head recently smashed 76 off just 30 balls against the Mumbai Indians. His opening partnership with Abhishek has produced the two highest powerplay scores in IPL history.

Heinrich Klaasen has 409 runs this season and dominates spin bowling. He scored an unbeaten 105 off 39 balls against KKR in 2025. Eshan Malinga leads the tournament wicket charts with 15 wickets in nine matches.

Rinku Singh is KKR's most consistent batter in 2026. He recently hit 83 off 51 balls to keep KKR's playoff hopes alive. Sunil Narine has taken 9 wickets at an economy of 6.66. He famously bowled Kolkata’s Super Over against the Lucknow Super Giants and kept LSG’s score at 1/2.

Varun Chakravarthy has taken 5 wickets across his last 2 matches. Matheesha Pathirana is set to make his KKR debut today with his slingy yorker-heavy style.

Pitch and Conditions

The Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad has a black-soil pitch. It is traditionally slow and provides significant grip for spinners. The surface exhibits a two-phase behaviour. Batters find it difficult to time their shots consistently.

Spinners have been the most dangerous bowlers on this surface. Dry conditions and black soil generate sharp turns and grip. Fast bowlers can extract extra bounce and zip early under floodlights.

The average first innings score at this ground in IPL 2026 is just 155. Any total above 170 is considered highly competitive here.

Conditions today will be hot and dry. The temperature during match hours will range between 33 and 38 degrees Celsius. Humidity is very low at around 19 to 20 per cent. There is zero chance of rain.

SRH will reach the top of the points table with a win in this match. Kolkata will keep their chances alive if they manage to emerge victorious. Expect a high-stakes battle.