Sunrisers Hyderabad secured a commanding 55-run win over Royal Challengers Bengaluru in IPL 2026. Fifties from Ishan Kishan, Abhishek Sharma, and Heinrich Klaasen helped SRH post 255/4. RCB struggled to chase despite Rajat Patidar’s half-century but still finished top of the table, advancing to Qualifier 1.
Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) finished their league stage of the IPL 2026 with a 55-run win over the defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Friday, May 22.
After posting a solid total of 255/4, thanks to brilliant fifties by Ishan Kishan (79), Abhishek Sharma (57), and Heinrich Klaasen (51), and a quickfire cameo knock by Nitish Kumar Reddy (29*), the hosts restricted the visitors to 200/5 in 20 overs, despite valiant efforts by Rajat Patidar, who scored a fifty, and Krunal Pandya, who scored a fiery 41-run knock.
Eshan Malinga led the bowling attack with figures of 2/33 at an economy rate of 8.20 in his spell of four overs. Sakib Hussain (1/31) and Travis Head (1/7) picked up a wicket each to restrict the visitors and secure a comprehensive win on home soil.
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SRH Batters Dominate RCB Bowling Attack
The SRH captain Pat Cummins’s decision to bat first paid off as the explosive opening duo of Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma took on the RCB bowlers from the word. The pair provided a fiery start to the hosts’ innings, racing to 45/0 in just 3.5 overs before Head’s dismissal for 26.
Thereafter, Abhishek was joined by Ishan Kishan at the crease, with whom he formed a 52-run stand for the second wicket before the opener’s dismissal at 97/2. After Abhishek Sharma’s wicket, Ishan and Heinrich Klaasen stitched together a phenomenal 113-run partnership for the third wicket to completely take the game away from the visitors.
The duo frustrated the RCB bowlers to such an extent that they simply ran out of answers on a flat Hyderabad track. From 97/2 in 8.2 overs to 210/2 in 16.2 overs, SRH cruised along at a breathtaking scoring rate, leaving the fielding side thoroughly deflated. As Ishan and Klaasen were looking to further their partnership, Krunal Pandya stepped in and dismissed the South African batter at 210/4.
After Heinrich Klaasen’s dismissal, Ishan Kishan was joined by Nitish Kumar Reddy at the crease. The southpaw was a second fiddle to Nitish, who wasted no time in taking the attack to the opposition. In their 45-run partnership, Nitish Reddy scored 29 off 11 balls, while Ishan scored 13 off 10 balls, before being dismissed by Sakib Hussain on the final ball of the innings.
At the end of 10 overs, Sunrisers Hyderabad’s scoring rate was standing at a blistering 11.20 runs per over, before surpassing the 12-run mark by the end of the innings. In the last 10 overs, SRH scored 139 for two wickets at a blistering pace of 13.90, which effectively put the match completely out of reach for Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
RCB’s Valiant Effort in Vain
Chasing a 256-run target set by SRH, RCB openers Venkatesh Iyer and Virat Kohli provided a fiery start to the visitors, racing to 60/0 in 4.2 overs before the former’s dismissal for 44 at 60/1. Thereafter, Virat Kohli was joined by Devdutt Padikkal at the crease to carry on RCB’s run chase.
However, Kohli’s stay at the crease ended soon as he was dismissed for 15 runs by Sakib Hussain at 74/2, before the RCB further collapsed to 94/3 following the quick departure of Devdutt Padikkal, who was dismissed for 21. However, skipper Rajat Patidar (56) and Krunal Pandya revived the hopes of the visitors’ chasing down the target through their 84-run stand for the fourth wicket.
As Patidar and Krunal were looking dangerous and threatening to pull off a miraculous heist, the former was dismissed by Travis Head at 178/4. At the time of the RCB skipper’s dismissal, the visitors’ required run rate was touching an astronomical 24 runs per over, making the target an impossible mountain to climb.
In the last two overs, Krunal Pandya and Tim David tried to swing for the fences to narrow the margin of defeat, but the mountain was simply too high to climb. With 48 runs required off the final 12 deliveries, SRH's death-bowling unit completely shut the door on any miraculous comeback.
Despite a 55-run defeat, RCB managed to finish the league stage as table toppers and secure Qualifier 1 spot, as SRH failed to restrict the visitors within the required margin to overtake their Net Run Rate (NRR). Royal Challengers Bengaluru will face Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 1, while Sunrisers Hyderabad will lock horns with the fourth-place team in the Eliminator.
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