APL 2026: Match 1, SVL vs KK Match Prediction – Who will win today’s APL match between Simhadri Vizag Lions vs Kakinada Kings?

The Andhra Premier League (APL) returns for yet another season in 2026, with Simhadri Vizag Lions (SVL) taking on the Kakinada Kings (KK) in the opening match at the ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam on Tuesday, June 9.

Both sides had seasons to forget last time around. SVL finished second from the bottom in 2025, with just four points to their name from six matches. They won only one game last year and lost three, with two of their other matches not yielding a result.

KK, on the other hand, finished just one place above their opponents from Tuesday but on the same number of points. The Kings won two matches in 2025, including a five-wicket win over SVL, thanks to Lekhaz Reddy's two sixes in the final over.

Throughout the years, teams batting second have been considered the favourites to win the game played at the ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium. The pitch in Vizag has been touted as a batting-friendly in nature, with scores of over 200 seen regularly during last season's Andhra Premier League. Bowlers, however, are always in the game, thanks to early swing for the new-ball bowlers and spinners then coming in towards the backend of the match.

Maheep Kumar, Kogatam Haneesh Reddy, Ricky Bhui (C), Nimmala Himakar, Hrithik Guntimadugu (WK), SK Kamaruddin, Bodhala Vinay Kumar, Girinath Reddy, Tripurana Vijay, Kamil Shaik, V Srikanth

Gadde Samanvith, Abhishek Reddy, Siraparapu Ashish, Pitta Arjun Tendulkar, Mitta Lekhaz Reddy (WK), Manish Golamaru (C), Ommi Bhaswanth Krishna, K P Sai Rahul, Harishankar Reddy, Kavuri Saiteja, Midde Anjaneyulu.

Maheep Kumar represented the Tungabhadra Warriors last year and went on to score 263 runs from nine innings at a strike-rate of 123.47. He ended the 2025 season as the fourth-highest run-scorer and will therefore be one of the Vizag Lions' main sources of runs.

Tripurana Vijay took six wickets from five matches in 2025 to end as SVL's leading wicket-taker. He took wickets at an average of 20.17 with a healthy economy rate of 8.07.