Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) skipper Ajinkya Rahane chose to bowl first against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in an Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 match at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Both teams scored over 200 runs in their previous games but faced defeats due to weak bowling performances. Rahane, after winning the toss, mentioned the unusual presence of grass and rain, opting to bowl first.
SRH captain Ishan Kishan revealed that Shivang Kumar, a left-arm wrist-spin bowling all-rounder, will debut in the IPL. Kishan expressed a preference for bowling first but emphasized the need to adapt while batting. He highlighted the importance of execution and simplicity in their approach for the upcoming game. Kishan also hinted at the inclusion of Pat Cummins, acknowledging his impact with both bat and ball.
The playing XIs for the match are as follows:
Kolkata Knight Riders: Ajinkya Rahane (captain), Cameron Green, Angkrish Raghuvanshi (wk), Rinku Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Anukul Roy, Sunil Narine, Varun Chakaravarthy, Vaibhav Arora, Kartik Tyagi, and Blessing Muzarabani.
Sunrisers Hyderabad: Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan (captain & wk), Heinrich Klaasen, Aniket Verma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Salil Arora, Harsh Dubey, Shivang Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat, and David Payne.
