Hilarious celebrations unfolded at the team hotel after Kolkata Knight Riders beat SunRisers Hyderabad at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Sunday. KKR exacted revenge on SRH this season, handing them a comprehensive seven-wicket defeat.
Spinners Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy spun a web around the SRH batting line-up before young Angkrish Raghuvanshi calmly guided the 166-run chase in Hyderabad.
After the win, the team returned to the hotel and marked the occasion by smashing cake on the face of none other than Andre Russell, who had celebrated his birthday a few days before the game.
KKR posted a video of the celebrations on social media, where players can be seen rubbing a whole chocolate cake on Russell’s face. Russell’s former West Indies teammate Narine was the first to start the fun, while head coach Abhishek Nayar held Russell from behind as the rest of the squad watched the hilarious scene unfold.
KKR HAMMER SRH IN HYDERABAD
Kolkata Knight Riders continued their remarkable turnaround in IPL 2026 with a convincing seven-wicket win over SunRisers Hyderabad on Sunday, chasing down 166 with ease in Hyderabad.
Once winless in their first six matches, KKR have now won three on the trot to keep their playoff hopes alive. The turnaround has been driven largely by their spin attack, with Varun Chakravarthy leading the charge. The mystery spinner returned to form with figures of 3 for 36, troubling SRH batters with his variations, while Sunil Narine chipped in with two wickets and also brought up his 200th IPL scalp.
SRH started strongly after being put in to bat, with Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head racing to 44 in just 3.3 overs. Head looked particularly dangerous, smashing a 22-ball fifty and threatening a massive score. However, Chakravarthy turned the game on its head by dismissing him for 61 in the ninth over.
The wicket triggered a collapse, with SRH losing nine wickets for just 60 runs. Heinrich Klaasen failed to capitalise on a dropped chance, while Ishan Kishan was left stranded without support from the middle order. Narine then delivered a decisive blow by removing Kishan and Salil Arora in the same over, as SRH were bowled out for 165 in 19 overs.
In response, Finn Allen gave KKR a flying start, taking on Pat Cummins in the powerplay. Although he fell early, his quickfire 29 set the tone for the chase.
Captain Ajinkya Rahane and Angkrish Raghuvanshi then stitched together a calm 84-run partnership, taking the game away from SRH. Both batters paced their innings well, ensuring there was no scoreboard pressure.
Despite losing a couple of wickets late, KKR completed the chase in 18.2 overs, with Rinku Singh finishing the job.
With three successive wins, KKR have reignited their campaign, while SRH will need to regroup quickly after a rare batting failure.
