Tezzbuzz Desk- An exciting end to the league stage of IPL 2026 was seen at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad, where Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated Royal Challengers Bengaluru by 55 runs. However, despite this defeat, there was a smile on RCB’s face as the team remained at the top position in the points table and got two chances to reach the finals.
Hyderabad won the toss and decided to bat first and put pressure on RCB bowlers from the very beginning. The explosive opening pair of Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma added 45 runs in just 4 overs. However, Rasikh Salam Dar gave the first success to RCB by dismissing Head.
After this, Abhishek Sharma along with Ishan Kishan batted stormily. Abhishek completed his half-century in just 20 balls and was out after scoring 56 runs in 22 balls. On the other hand, Ishan Kishan batted aggressively and scored 79 runs. Heinrich Klaasen also took the team’s score forward by scoring 51 runs in 24 balls. In the end, Nitish Reddy scored unbeaten 29 runs in 12 balls and took Hyderabad to a huge score of 255 runs in 20 overs.
RCB’s start to chase the target of 256 runs was not as expected. Venkatesh Iyer certainly gave a fast start by scoring 44 runs in 19 balls, but as soon as he was out, the team’s run rate slowed down. Virat Kohli became the victim of Saqib Hussain after scoring only 15 runs, while Devdutt Padikkal could score only 21 runs.
Captain Rajat Patidar played an inning of 56 runs, but his batting did not show the pace that the team needed. Krunal Pandya scored unbeaten 41 and Tim David scored 15 runs, but by then the match was out of RCB’s control. The entire team could score only 200 runs in 20 overs and lost the match by 55 runs.
However, RCB did not suffer much loss due to this defeat. The team won 9 out of 14 matches in the league stage and secured 18 points and retained the first position in the points table on the basis of better net run rate. Gujarat Titans and Sunrisers Hyderabad also had 18 points each, but they lagged behind in net run rate.
Now the first qualifier in the playoffs will be played between RCB and Gujarat Titans. The winning team of this match will directly reach the finals, while the losing team will get another chance. This is the reason why despite the defeat, this match did not prove to be very damaging for RCB.
There is still excitement left for the fourth seat of the playoffs. Rajasthan has a chance to defeat Mumbai and make it to the playoffs. If Rajasthan loses, it may open the way for Kolkata Knight Riders.
Comments are closed.