Outside the iconic venue, vendors did brisk business while fans, draped in purple and gold, queued up hours before the gates opened. As one walked through the maidans, negotiating potholes and patches of wild grass, the familiar aroma of mustard oil, tele bhaja and steaming tea blended with the hum of anticipation – a reminder that cricket in Kolkata is as much about culture as it is about competition.
However, as the evening progressed, the Kolkata Knight Riders faithful had little to cheer. Coming on the back of a defeat against the Mumbai Indians in the tournament opener at the Wankhede Stadium, the pressure mounted on KKR as it opted to bowl on a surface where the ball came nicely onto the bat.
Making the most of an inexperienced bowling line-up, the Sunrisers Hyderabad openers – Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma – stitched together an 82-run opening partnership.
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It was absolute mayhem.
While Abhishek took time to settle in, Head ensured SRH registered the highest Powerplay score of the season. Before the young Kartik Tyagi gave KKR some respite by dismissing Head off a short-of-a-length delivery, the Australian ensured the visitors raced away, plundering 16 runs off Blessing Muzarabani’s opening over and then taking 20 off Vaibhav Arora’s second.
As the carnage continued, KKR turned to Varun Chakravarthy, hoping the seasoned spinner would deliver the much-needed breakthrough. But the plan backfired as Abhishek hammered 25 runs in Chakravarthy’s opening over, compounding KKR’s woes.
Though Chakravarthy conceded just six runs in his second over, the KKR think-tank kept him away from action for the remainder of the innings.
Though Tyagi removed the in-form Head and Muzarabani struck twice in quick succession to offer some hope, momentum once again swung decisively in SRH’s favour. Riding on a fluent 82-run stand for the fifth wicket between Heinrich Klaasen and Nitish Kumar Reddy, the visitors surged past the 200-run mark.
Even though Muzarabani picked up a couple more wickets in his final over, KKR’s bowling frailties were laid bare once again, as was its shoddy effort in the field. Despite a packed stadium backing the home side to the hilt, the team management has plenty to ponder — though it is still early days in the tournament.
Published on Apr 02, 2026
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