Abhishek Sharma welcomed Varun Chakravarthy with a huge six. The out-of-form spinner of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) conceded 25 runs in his first over of the match tonight at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. The opening pair of Sunrisers Hyderabad — Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma — was in full swing against the bowling line-up of KKR.
Both teams started off their campaign in a challenging way as both teams lost in their respective opening games in the ongoing IPL 2026 season. While the Kolkata Knight Riders lost against the Mumbai Indians, the Sunrisers Hyderabad was defeated by the defending champions, the Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
Abhishek Sharma smashed Varun Chakravarthy for 25 runs in a single over
KKR has the golden opportunity to register their first win of the session, as they are playing their first home game, in front of their own fans, of the campaign. As of now, the bowlers in Purple have been brutally beaten by the two batters of Hyderabad.
Before Varun Chakravarthy, the Zimbabwe pacer Blessing Muzarabani conceded 16 runs in an over with the new ball, and Chakravarthy, who has been struggling with his form for the last few weeks, was dispatched for 25 runs in an over. On the fifth over of the first innings, the spinner leaked 25 runs.
Summary of the over when Varun Chakravarthy conceded 25 runs vs Abhishek Sharma
From the 5th over, SRH claimed 25 runs, thanks to Abhishek Sharma’s flamboyant striking abilities. As soon as the spinner came into the attack, the southpaw hammered in for a maximum. After a dot ball in the second delivery, Sharma again blunted Chakravarthy for another six, followed by a four.
Under pressure, the ace spinner of the Kolkata Knight Riders, pitched a wide, and then another pair of 4s. 25 runs came from the first over of Varun Chakravarthy in that over. Sunrisers Hyderabad got a major boost in their innings.
5th over of the 1st innings of KKR vs SRH match: 6 0 6 4 1WD 4 4
Varun’s controversial catch dismissed Abhishek Sharma
Later, Varun Chakravarthy was directly involved in a controversial instance which cost SRH the wicket of Abhishek Sharma. On a delivery of the Zimbabwe pacer Blessing Muzarabani, Varun made a brilliant effort to dismiss the batter. The effort was undoubtedly world-class, but did it make a clean catch? The question remains despite the third umpire’s repeated check on the screen. After an impactful knock, the opener was dismissed for 48 runs with a strike rate of 219.05.
KKR got rid of the dangerous batter, this could be a huge moment of the match. Varun Chakravarthy could also take a breath of relief.