Kolkata Knight Riders secured a comfortable seven-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad with 10 balls to spare in the Indian Premier League on Sunday.
Spinner Varun Chakravarthy led the bowling attack with 3-36, while Sunil Narine (2-31) and Kartik Tyagi (2-30) provided strong support as Hyderabad were bowled out for 165 in 19 overs.
Opener Travis Head struck a rapid 61 off 28 balls, but Hyderabad suffered a dramatic collapse, slipping from 135-4 to lose their last six wickets for just 30 runs.
Chasing 166, Kolkata reached 169-3 in 18.2 overs. Impact substitute Angkrish Raghuvanshi top-scored with 59 off 47 balls, including five fours and two sixes, while captain Ajinkya Rahane contributed 43 off 36 balls.
The victory marked Kolkata’s third consecutive win, though the team remained eighth in the standings after nine matches, following a difficult run that included five losses and one no-result. Hyderabad stayed third despite the defeat, which was their fourth in 10 games, missing an opportunity to move to the top of the table.
In another match later in the day, Gujarat Titans hosted Punjab Kings in Ahmedabad.
Hyderabad made a strong start, with Head hitting nine fours and three sixes in his innings. He added 44 runs with Abhishek Sharma (15) and then shared a 61-run stand with Ishan Kishan, who scored 42 off 29 balls. The hosts posted 71-1 in the powerplay.
However, Chakravarthy removed Head in the ninth over, triggering a collapse. Hyderabad slipped to 122-4 after Heinrich Klaasen (11) was dismissed and Ravichandran Smaran (4) fell soon after. Narine further dented the innings in the 16th over by taking two wickets, including Kishan’s, leaving Hyderabad with little momentum in the final overs.
From 105-1 in 8.5 overs, Hyderabad eventually lost nine wickets for 60 runs.
Kolkata began their chase briskly, with Finn Allen scoring 29 off 13 balls before being dismissed by Pat Cummins. The team matched Hyderabad’s powerplay score of 71-1.
Rahane and Raghuvanshi then put together an 84-run partnership for the second wicket, effectively taking the game away from the hosts. Raghuvanshi brought up his third half-century of the season off 39 balls.
Rinku Singh’s unbeaten 22 off 11 deliveries sealed the win for Kolkata.
The result also marked Kolkata’s 21st victory in 32 IPL matches against Hyderabad, their most successful record against any opponent.