Sunrisers Hyderabad cruised to a 55-run victory over Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Friday in their IPL 2026 group stage clash.
SRH piled up a formidable 256, powered by half-centuries from Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, and Heinrich Klaasen, before restricting RCB to 200, rendering Rajat Patidar’s fifty meaningless in the final outcome.
RCB finished atop the table, while SRH placed third due to an inferior NRR as compared to the holders and second-placed Gujarat Titans. Former Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin lauded SRH’s staff and leadership unit as they look to add to their title tally, via the eliminator path.
“When Pat Cummins was injured, they gave the captaincy to Ishan Kishan, which I personally
liked,” Ashwin said.
“Secondly, they started with experienced seamers including Unadkat, but when things did not click, they went on to bring in Praful Hinge, Shakib Hussain, Harsh Dubey and Shivang Kumar and so on,” he added.
“You don’t need to have a million dollars, but behave like you have it, emphasising on the level of confidence.”
“They don’t have the star power like GT doesn’t in its bowling unit, but they have played in a similar manner nevertheless, and Varun Aaron and the staff and Cummins himself need to be lauded,” Ashwin added.
After winning the toss and choosing to bat, SRH got off to a brisk start as Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head raced to 45 for the first wicket in just 4 overs. Head, however, was dismissed for 26 off 16 by Rashik Salam.
Ishan Kishan then joined Abhishek and the pair added 52 for the second wicket. Abhishek brought up his half-century before falling to Suyash Sharma for a blazing 56 off 22 balls.
Kishan combined even more fluently with Heinrich Klaasen, the duo stitching together a 113-run stand, with both registering fifties. Klaasen’s explosive 51 off 24 deliveries was cut short by Krunal Pandya.
Kishan remained unbeaten on 79 off 46 balls, while Nitish Kumar Reddy provided late impetus with 29 off 12, guiding SRH to a massive 255 in their 20 overs.
Chasing a daunting target, RCB openers Virat Kohli and Venkatesh Iyer launched the reply with a rapid 60-run partnership, with Iyer taking the attack to the bowlers. He was eventually removed by Eshan Malinga for 44, after which Kohli was dismissed by Shakib Hussain for 15 off 11. Devdutt Padikkal added 21 from 14 before Malinga picked up his second wicket.
Rajat Patidar and Krunal Pandya then steadied the chase, with the captain Patidar reaching a half-century and Pandya contributing 41. Patidar’s 56 off 39 ended when Travis Head struck, and Tim David remained unbeaten on 15 alongside Pandya as RCB closed on 200, falling 55 runs short.
