Kolkata, April 1 (IANS) Kolkata Knight Riders will aim to resolve key bowling issues, especially in their spin bowlers, when they face Sunrisers Hyderabad in an IPL 2026 match at Eden Gardens on Thursday. The game features two batting-focused teams, but both sides have notable weaknesses in their bowling attacks.

For KKR, this match marks the start of a vital home phase. With three fixtures scheduled within a week and another on April 19 before a lengthy break due to state elections, the three-time champions will be keen to capitalise on familiar conditions. Historically dominant at Eden Gardens, KKR have won 54 of their 95 matches at the venue, but their current campaign has begun on shaky ground.

A lack of bowling depth has become a significant concern. Injuries to Harshit Rana and Akash Deep, along with the unavailability of Matheesha Pathirana and Cameron Green’s limited role, have weakened their attack. These issues were evident in their opener, where they failed to defend a total of 220, conceding a large opening stand that highlighted their difficulties with the new ball.

More concerning, however, has been the performance of their spin duo, Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy. Chakravarthy leaked runs without much success, while Narine was underutilised, raising questions about KKR’s ability to control the middle overs.

SRH encounters similar problems following their loss in the opening match. Although they have a strong top order with Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, and Travis Head, their bowling unit found it difficult to defend a score over 200.

Pat Cummins’s absence due to fitness issues has further weakened their lineup. After several bowlers underperformed in the opener, SRH must rely on both their key batsmen and bowlers to excel in what is expected to be a high-scoring match.

When: Wednesday, April 2, 7:30 PM IST

Where: Eden Gardens, Kolkata

Where to watch: The KKR vs SRH match will be broadcast on Star Sports channels, with JioHotstar live-streaming the game.

Squads:

Kolkata Knight Riders: Ajinkya Rahane (c), Manish Pandey, Rovman Powell, Angkrish Raghuvanshi (wk), Ramandeep Singh, Rinku Singh, Sunil Narine, Anukul Roy, Vaibhav Arora, Harshit Rana, Umran Malik, Varun Chakaravarthy, Cameron Green, Finn Allen, Matheesha Pathirana, Kartik Tyagi, Rahul Tripathi, Tim Seifert, Tejasvi Dahiya, Sarthak Ranjan, Rachin Ravindra, Akash Deep, Prashant Solanki, Daksh Kamra

Sunrisers Hyderabad: Ishan Kishan (c & wk), Heinrich Klaasen, Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Aniket Verma, Smaran Ravichandran, Salil Arora, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Pat Cummins, Liam Livingstone, Kamindu Mendis, Krains Fuletra, Brydon Carse, Praful Hinge, Sakib Hussain, Onkar Tarmale, Jaydev Unadkat, Shivam Mavi, Harshal Patel, Eshan Malinga, David Payne, Harsh Dubey, Amit Kumar, Zeeshan Ansari

–IANS

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