Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) defeated Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) by 55 runs at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Friday, May 22. However, this victory proved insignificant for the Orange Army.
Pat Cummins won the toss and decided to bat first. Travis Head could not convert his fast start into a big score. However, Abhishek Sharma Sure, because 56 runs were scored in his innings of 22 balls. Ishan Kishan and Heinrich Klaasen also scored brilliant half-centuries, while a late surge from Nitish Kumar Reddy helped the hosts post a total of 255/4.
To finish in the top two, SRH had to beat RCB by 90 or more runs. Venkatesh Iyer batted for the first time in RCB colors and scored 44 runs in just 19 balls. However, Virat Kohli was out after scoring 15 runs in 11 balls.
Devdutt Padikkal looked good during his innings of 21 runs off 14 balls, but after his dismissal in the ninth over, Rajat Patidar and Krunal Pandya stitched an 84-run partnership that ensured RCB did not lose the game by more than 90 runs.
After Patidar was out after scoring 56 runs in 39 balls, Krunal Pandya and Tim David remained unbeaten after scoring 41 and 15 runs respectively. RCB were restricted to 200/4 in 20 overs.
talking points:
SRH batting order fires on all cylinders
Sunrisers Hyderabad will have to take a long route to the finals after finishing outside the top two in the points table. They will play eliminator. However, the form of the batsmen will give them hope that they can still do what they did in 2016, win the IPL after starting the playoffs from the eliminator.
Today is the off day for RCB's star pace pair.
The in-form pair of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood were given leave from work. He has been playing a vital role in RCB's success this season. However, against the might of the formidable SRH batting lineup, they failed. While Bhuvneshwar scored 51 runs in four overs, Hazlewood scored 55 runs in four overs. Both remained wicketless.
RCB is on top of the table
RCB won the title last season, and now they are on top of the table in IPL 2026. He needed to score 166 runs to remain in the top two. However, scoring more than 178 runs would have ensured their top position in the table. They eventually settled at 200/4, and will now face Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 1 in Dharamshala on Tuesday, May 26.
who said what?
Rajat Patidar, Royal Challengers Bangalore (losing captain)
(Lots of runs on the board?) Obviously, I think their top five batsmen played really well, and they completely dominated the first innings. (The pitch got slower?) Not really, but I think the slow bouncers were catching up a bit, but I think the way…his strengths are the slow bouncers and the yorkers, he did very well. (The top priority was to finish on top?) The top priority was to finish on top, but I think, there were too many runs in the first innings. I think 255 is a good score on this wicket. And I think their five bowlers executed the slow bouncers and yorkers very well. (Wasn't it easy to hit slow bouncers?) Obviously, Hyderabad, I think it is a good wicket, but when you start bowling slow bouncers, slow in the wicket, I think it is really difficult for the batsman to score runs.
Pat Cummins, Sunrisers Hyderabad (winning captain)
The score we made was quite impressive. I thought the boys batted brilliantly and it was a good bowling performance. So everyone is gearing up. A very good wicket, we knew a lot of things had to go in our favour. Yep, it came close. Yeah, I think they were trying to make sure they reached that score. So we threw a few different things at them, but it's still a big win. How nice. (On the bowling unit) they have been fantastic. I really learned a lot from those guys too. The way Ishan has bowled throughout the season, especially in the powerplay. He has been the form bowler of the comp due to his slower balls and his mix of different deliveries. And yes, Saqib is also there. So the captain's dream. (On playing the next game in New Chandigarh) is still 5-6 days away. So yes, we will rest for a few days, let's go there. And yes, the people know the grounds well. So get up there. I think in the next day or two we will know who we are playing with.
Ishan Kishan, Player of the Match
(On being awarded Player of the Match for the third time this season) Yeah, just happy with it, taking one match at a time, not making it complicated for myself, just keeping it simple. As I said before the tournament, it is just about seeing the ball and playing our game. (On their incredible record against RCB) Honestly, I don't know. Like I said, I only pay attention to one match at a time, but I don't know why. But when I am playing against them I feel confident and I feel that at the end of the day, luck favors the brave and I just try to do my job and it works for me. (Do you feel your maturity has increased manifold?) More than maturity, it is about shot selection. So when to play which shot, whom to target. So I am just trying to take one ball at a time, know the situation, understand the pitch and just play my shots. At the end of the day, you need to feel confident in the middle. And if you're feeling like it, make sure you play good shots. Always, from day one, even when I was leading the team, we had it in our mind that we wanted to finish in the top two because that gives the team a chance to easily reach the finals. But at the same time, Pat coming in, helping us with everything, adding one of the best bowlers to our team, there is leadership quality. So it's great to have him. And the way he is leading the team, I can't ask for anything more. Credit goes to everyone, the entire team and support staff, especially for keeping us in that area. You should never doubt yourself. You never think about doing anything else. When you are not scoring runs or not getting wickets, I think, you keep it simple. You just bowl your best balls, you play your best shots. And, it's about having fun in between because at the end of the day the pressure is always there. But if you're having fun, you can get to the zone where you play your best. So I am sure I have to give credit to the support staff and Pat Cummins because he has always been there, who has always motivated the players in the middle.
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