IPL 2026 | RCB finish on top of the points table despite 55-run defeat to SRH

The Royal Challengers Bengaluru finished top of the points table in IPL 2026 even as they went down by 55 runs against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Friday.

Opting to bat first, SRH got off to a fiery start but Rasikh Dar broke the opening partnership by accounting for Travis Head. However, Abhishek Sharma zoomed to a 20-ball 50 before being dismissed for 56.

It was then that Ishan Kishan and Heinrich Klaasen put on a show, hammering 113 runs in the next eight overs.

Klaasen, who started slow, clobbered five sixes and two fours on his way to a 24-ball 51. This included a 27-run over against Josh Hazlewood.

Kishan, on the other hand, played a blinder of a knock before getting out on the last ball of the innings. His 79 runs came off 46 balls and included eight fours and three sixes.

Nitish Kumar Reddy played a stunning cameo, unleashing all kinds of innovative shots as he finished on a high with 29 runs off 12 balls, including three sixes and a four.

The batting firepower ensured that SRH breached 250 and ended with 255/4 in 20 overs. Rasikh Dar was the lone positive for RCB with the ball with two wickets.

Chasing the target, Venkatesh Iyer, who opened the innings for the first time in the season, got off to a breezy start. He smashed 44 runs off 19 balls, including four fours and as many sixes.

However, once him and Kohli were dismissed inside the powerplay, RCB played to secure a top-two finish and never stepped on the accelerator. Their main target was to breach 166, in which case they would guarantee a match against Gujarat Titans at Dharamshala in Qualifier 1.

Rajat Patidar and Krunal Pandya knocked around to stitch an 84-run partnership but off 57 balls. The RCB skipper reached his half-century in 37 balls, while the all-rounder remained unbeaten on 41 runs off 31 balls. RCB reached 200 with Tim David hammering a couple of boundaries at the end.