SunRisers Hyderabad were on top of their game at the Eden Gardens against Kolkata Knight Riders across all departments, helping us register our first win of TATA IPL 2026 on Thursday. After being put in to bat first by KKR, Abhishek Sharma (48 off 21 balls) and Travis Head (46 off 21 balls) gave us a trademark start in the powerplay. Head smashed two fours and two sixes in the third over off Vaibhav Arora to get going, while Abhishek Sharma joined the party in the fifth, amassing 25 runs off Varun Chakaravarthy. The duo put up 82 runs together in just 34 balls, setting the platform for a big total. Heinrich Klaasen (52 off 35 balls) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (39 off 24 balls) took the onus upon themselves after a couple of quick wickets and stitched a vital fifth-wicket partnership to keep the scorecard moving. Courtesy of a few crucial boundaries from Harsh Dubey and debutant Shivang Kumar in the final two overs, we finished with 226/8 in 20 overs. Several records tumbled as we went on to post yet another big score batting first. This was the 10th time we registered 225 runs or more in an innings in TATA IPL, making us the first team to do so. This was also our fifth consecutive score of 200+ in TATA IPL, the first such instance in the tournament. Abhishek Sharma’s meteoric rise with SRH saw him reach another major milestone, hitting his 100th six for us since joining in 2019. After the break, Harsh Dubey took charge in the second over and picked up the big wicket of Finn Allen. Jaydev Unadkat followed suit and once again struck in his first over, dismissing Ajinkya Rahane. On the final ball of the powerplay, some quick work in the field by Eshan Malinga saw Cameron Green run himself out, putting us in pole position heading into the middle overs. Shivang Kumar showed promise with the ball, constantly troubling the batters with his pace and turn. The young left-arm leg-spinner bowled some crucial overs in the middle and with the help of Eshan Malinga, he induced a crucial run-out of Angkrish Raghuvanshi. Nitish Kumar Reddy was handed the ball in the 12th over and struck instantly, dismissing Anukul Roy. He then picked up the big wicket of Rinku Singh in his next over, shifting the match completely in our favour. Jaydev Unadkat and Eshan Malinga returned in the death overs to wrap up the innings. Kolkata Knight Riders were bowled out for 161 in 16 overs, making us the first team to successfully defend a total in TATA IPL 2026. Unadkat returned with figures of 3/21 and claimed the Purple Cap at the end of the match. Eshan and Nitish picked up two wickets each. For his all-round exploits, Nitish Kumar Reddy was named Player of the Match. Brief Scores: SunRisers Hyderabad 226/8 in 20 overs (Heinrich Klaasen 52, Abhishek Sharma 48, Travis Head 46, Nitish Kumar Reddy 39) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 161 all out in 16 overs (Jaydev Unadkat 3/21, Eshan Malinga 2/14, Nitish Kumar Reddy 2/17)