Match overview
Kolkata Knight Riders beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by 80 runs at Eden Gardens on 3 April 2025, turning in their most complete performance of the IPL season to date. KKR batted first after SRH won the toss and elected to field, posting 200/6 from their 20 overs. Sunrisers were bowled out for 120 in reply, with the match effectively settled by the end of the powerplay. VG Arora took player of the match honours. The result moves the head-to-head record to 19–11 in KKR's favour across 31 T20 meetings, and ends a run of two successive defeats for the hosts in this fixture.
KKR's innings was built on a solid start and finished with a flourish. Their powerplay yielded 53 runs for 2 wickets, slightly above Eden Gardens' average of 44 powerplay runs. The middle overs added 69 runs for 2 wickets, and the death phase contributed the most: 78 runs from the final overs with just 2 more wickets lost. That late acceleration gave SRH a target of 201, a total that proved well beyond them.
Sunrisers' reply unravelled in the powerplay. They lost 3 wickets for only 33 runs in the first six overs, far below even a conservative target rate and short of the venue's average of 44. The middle overs kept them mathematically alive at 81 runs for 4 wickets, but the damage was already done. The death phase brought 3 more wickets and just 6 runs, SRH finishing all out for 120.
Venue and conditions
Eden Gardens is one of the largest and most atmospheric grounds in world cricket, and its numbers tell a consistent story. Across 171 T20 matches at the ground, the average first-innings score is 186 and the average second-innings score is 170. The chase success rate sits at 53 per cent, meaning the venue is broadly balanced between bat-first and chase-first outcomes, though conditions can shift considerably based on dew in the evening session.
KKR's 200/6 outperformed that first-innings average by 14 runs. Their death-overs total of 78 from the final phase was also above the venue's average of 38 death-overs runs, suggesting either a boundary-friendly surface on this occasion or particularly effective hitting at the back end. SRH's inability to keep pace with even a steady run rate during the powerplay made the rest of their innings academic.
The toss data at Eden Gardens indicates that 58 per cent of toss winners choose to field. SRH followed that pattern and suffered for it. Whether that reflects a dew factor or simply KKR's batting quality on the night, the decision to chase did not pay off in the slightest.
How to watch
IPL 2025 is broadcast in the United Kingdom on Sky Sports Cricket. All fixtures, including those involving Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad, are available to watch live via Sky Sports' main cricket channel. Subscribers can also stream matches through Sky Go on mobile and connected devices. NOW TV offers day and week passes for those without a full Sky subscription, providing access without a long-term contract.
Recent form
KKR arrive at this result off a mixed run: a loss to Mumbai Indians and a defeat against Royal Challengers Bangalore bookend a win over Rajasthan Royals in their three most recent 2025 outings before this fixture. Their two victories over SRH in 2024 give them a positive record in this specific matchup, and the 80-run margin here suggests those results were no fluke.
Sunrisers' form has been more concerning. Before this game, they had lost to Delhi Capitals and Lucknow Super Giants in 2025, with only a win over Rajasthan Royals interrupting that slide. Their earlier 110-run win over KKR at Arun Jaitley Stadium showed they can be ruthless when things click, but the collapses in the powerplay of this match, losing 3 wickets for 33 runs, point to a fragility at the top of their batting order that opponents will continue to target.
