Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) suffered a 55-run thrashing in their last league match of the IPL 2026 against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Friday (May 22).
Opting to bat first, the hosts racked up a mammoth 255/4 in 20 overs on the back of fluent half-centuries from Ishan Kishan (79 off 46), Abhishek Sharma (56 off 22) and Heinrich Klaasen (51 off 24).
During the chase, RCB were restricted to 200/4. Although the defending champions fell way short of the target, they breached the 166-run mark to ensure a top two finish, thanks to Rajat Patidar’s 39-ball 56 and crucial contributions by Venkatesh Iyer (44 off 19) and Krunal Pandya (41* off 31).
This result means that RCB will face second-placed Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 1, while SRH await the confirmation of their opponent in the Eliminator.
Speaking after the game, RCB skipper Patidar attributed the defeat to the formidable target set by SRH and their bowlers' execution of yorkers and slow bouncers.
“(Too many runs on the board?) Obviously, I think their top five batsmen played really well, and they purely dominated in the first innings.
“(Pitch slowed down?) Not really, but I think the slow bouncer was gripping a bit, but I think the way... their strength is slow bouncers and yorkers, they executed pretty well,” Patidar said at the post-match presentation.
Patidar stressed that RCB’s priority heading into the final stages was to finish at the top of the table, and they ultimately achieved the objective despite the loss.
“The top priority was to be on the top, but I think, there were a lot of runs in the first inning. I think 255 is a good score on this wicket,” he remarked.
Rajat Patidar credited the SRH bowling attack, stating they executed their plans smartly and used variations that made it highly difficult for RCB batters.
“I think their five bowlers executed the slow bouncers and yorkers pretty well. (Wasn't easy to hit the slow bouncers?) Obviously, Hyderabad, I think it's a good wicket, but when you start bowling slow bouncers, slow into the wicket, I think it's really tough for the batsman to score the runs,” he concluded.
