Ajinkya Rahane, the captain of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), praised his bowling unit on Sunday for their consistency over the last few games. His words came after KKR defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), who were on a five-game winning streak. This game was played on May 3, 2026, in Hyderabad.
Pat Cummins won the toss and chose to bat first. Abhishek Sharma fell for 15 runs, but Travis Head (61) and Ishan Kishan (61) scored runs for the second wicket. Kishan scored 42 runs. However, the rest of the batting failed, as SRH only managed 165 runs in 20 overs.
In response, Finn Allen took on Pat Cummins and hit him for 27 runs in the 4th over before falling to him in the same over. That over gave KKR enough momentum that Ajinkya Rahane (43), Angkrish Raghuvanshi (53), and Rinku Singh (22*) ensured that KKR won the game by 7 wickets.
"Very good game. The way we came back with the ball. It looked like they would get 190-200. It would've been challenging to chase, but credit to our bowling unit, especially the spinners. They kept taking wickets. Those small moments are really important; I'm really happy with the win. The bowling unit has been doing really well in the last 5-6 games," Rahane said during the post-match presentation.
"Credit to our bowling coaches—Dwayne Bravo and Tim Southee. Here and there, you will go for runs, but as long as you're clear in your head, that's important. That win was important going into the break,” Rahane stated.
The KKR players took a little break after their victory over the Lucknow Super Giants on April 26 in order to recharge before their match against SRH.
"We had 2-3 practice sessions. It's all about being mentally fresh. Support staff has been doing really well. Even though we lost the first 5 matches, the atmosphere was really calm," Rahane said.
Rahane was also praiseful of spinner Varun Chakaravarthy, who was the Player of the Match for his 3/36. This was the fourth successive match in which he took at least two wickets.
"Really happy for him. He was always confident. Works really hard, great attitude. He's been bowling the tough overs,” Rahane stated.
KKR will now have a 5-day break, as they return on May 8 to face the Delhi Capitals in Delhi.
