Kolkata/IBNS: A misunderstanding with Rinku Singh not only costed Angriksh Raghuvanshi his wicket but also triggered a collapse of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) as the hosts were outplayed by Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) by 65 runs at the Eden Gardens on Thursday.
Raghuvanshi's exit scoring 52 off 29 balls was followed by a rush of wickets as KKR were bundled out for 161 in 16 overs suffering their second straight defeat in as many matches of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026.
Raghuvanshi was a part of a 46-run stand for the fourth wicket with Rinku, who was caught at short third man by Jaydev Unadkat off Nitish Reddy's slower delivery in the 14th over.
Sunil Narine, who ignited hope with two giant sixes upon arrival, failed to land the third and was dismissed, almost confirming SRH's maiden victory in the new season of the tournament.
Earlier in the evening, Sunrisers went off to a dream start in the powerplay adding 84 in six overs losing only Travis Head, who was picking the Knight Riders bowlers out of the park at ease.
Dropped on 34 by KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane, the Australian batter slammed a fiery 48 off 21 balls to capitalise on the hosts' weak bowling lineup.
Until he was dismissed by Ankit Tyagi in the final over of the powerplay, Head slammed a six and a four off him threatening to repeat his third over dominance when the southpaw dismantled Vaibhav Arora for 20 runs including two fours and as many sixes.
Abhishek Sharma, who largely remained silent in the early powerplay overs, amassed 25 runs in the fifth over with three fours and two sixes to take SRH to an undisputable 71/0.
After KKR pulled things back picking wickets in a quick interval, Heinrich Klassen ensured the visitors go past 200 with his 52 off 35 balls.
Reddy's 39 off 24 balls added power to SRH batting as the visitors cruised to 226/8 in 20 overs.