Head, Abhishek help Hyderabad thump Kolkata in IPL
Sunrisers Hyderabad openers Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma both scored at 200+ strike rates to lay the platform for a comprehensive 65-run victory against the Kolkata Knight Riders in their Tata IPL match at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Thursday.
The left-handed openers added 82 for the first wicket in double quick time as the Sunrisers posted 226-8 before dismissing the home side for a modest 161 in just 16 overs.
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Australian Head smashed 46 from 21 balls while Abhishek was just two runs richer from the same number of balls while sharing 10 fours and seven sixes between them.
One of the most prolific opening partnerships in IPL history were in vintage form.
๐๐ค๐ฌ๐๐ง ๐ฅ๐ก๐๐ฎ personified! ๐ช@SunRisers' 5โฃ best powerplay totals in #TATAIPL have all seen Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma setting the tone up top ๐ฅ
Updates โถ๏ธ https://t.co/iCMFpDudP7#KhelBindaas | #KKRvSRH pic.twitter.com/hcz28QWlrP โ IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 2, 2026
Captain Ishan Kishan's stay was short and sweet with 14 from nine balls but Heinrich Klaasen added a solid 52 from 35 balls to make certain the flying start wasn't wasted.
Klaas Apart! ๐
๐ฅ Heinrich Klaasen at his innovative best ๐ค
Scorecard โถ๏ธ https://t.co/iCMFpDudP7#TATAIPL | #KhelBindaas | #KKRvSRH | @sunrisers pic.twitter.com/zr9UIYSQYO โ IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 2, 2026
Nitish Kumar Reddy's rasping 39 from 24 deliveries added another layer of insurance.
New Zealand opener, Finn Allen, delivered an extraordinary start to the run chase for KKR by hitting all of his first six deliveries to the boundary - four fours and two sixes - before succumbing to the seventh in an innings of 28 from just seven balls.
25 off the over ๐ฏ
No sighters, Finn Allen launched @KKRiders to a powerful start ๐#KKR 74/3 in 6๏ธโฃ overs
RELIVE THE OVER โถ๏ธ https://t.co/wizWpTD6vi#TATAIPL | #KhelBindaas | #KKRvSRH pic.twitter.com/huLWKU0dXC โ IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 2, 2026
Angkrish Raghuvanshi belted 52 from 29 balls and Rinku Singh added 35 from 25 but the Knight Riders slumped rapidly thereafter with left arm seamer Jaydev Unadkat claiming 3-21 in his three overs, Sri Lankan Eshan Malinga 2-14 in two and allrounder Reddy 2-17 in two overs.
Crucial knock ๐ค Crucial wickets ๐ซก
Nitish Kumar Reddy is the Player of the Match for his all-round brilliance tonight ๐
RELIVE his batting effort โถ๏ธ https://t.co/xwNDVSnioy#TATAIPL | #KhelBindaas | #KKRvSRH | @SunRisers pic.twitter.com/UQzPd8kWvi โ IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 2, 2026
The result puts the Sunrisers back on course after a heavy opening defeat but was bad news for KKR who have now suffered two heavy defeats in their opening two matches.
KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS: Ajinkya Rahane (capt), Cameron Green, Angkrish Raghuvanshi (wk), Rinku Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Anakul Roy, Sunil Narine, Varun Chakaravarthy, Vaibhav Arora, Kartik Tyagi, Blessing Muzarabani.
SUNRISERS HYDERABAD: Abishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan (capt; wk), Heinrich Klaasen, Aniket Verma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Salil Arora, Harsh Dubey, Shivang Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat, David Payne.
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