Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) won the toss and decided to bowl against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the sixth match of the Indian Premier League 2026 at Eden Gardens on Thursday.
KKR retained their previous playing XI, while SRH introduced Shivang Kumar into the side. Both teams are looking to bounce back after losing their opening matches of the season.
KKR suffered a six-wicket defeat against the Mumbai Indians, while SRH were beaten by the Royal Challengers Bengaluru by the same margin.
Following the toss, KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane said, “We will bowl first. There is always room for improvement, but there were many positives as well. Usually, we do not see this much grass and rain, which is why we wanted to bowl first. We cannot say for sure about the dew since there is some wind around. The conditions should remain good for 40 overs. We are going with the same team.”
After losing the toss, SRH captain Ishan Kishan said, “We would have also bowled first, but while batting first, we need to assess the conditions and play accordingly. We have to deliver our best performance. It is important to execute the basics properly on the field. In this match, we will try to keep things simple. There is one change in our side. Shivang Kumar has come in, which gives us more wicket-taking options. He has bowled well in the nets, and we are giving him an opportunity.”
Kolkata Knight Riders Playing XI: Ajinkya Rahane (captain), Cameron Green, Angkrish Raghuvanshi (wicketkeeper), Rinku Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Anukul Roy, Sunil Narine, Varun Chakaravarthy, Vaibhav Arora, Kartik Tyagi, Blessing Muzarabani.
Sunrisers Hyderabad Playing XI: Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan (captain/wicketkeeper), Heinrich Klaasen, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Aniket Verma, Salil Arora, Harsh Dubey, Shivang Kumar, David Payne, Jaydev Unadkat.
Both sides are eager to open their account this season. The contest at Eden Gardens promises to be closely fought. Teams will look to regain momentum early in the tournament.
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