RCB suffer embarrassing defeat to Hyderabad in IPL 2026, yet seal spot in top two spot alongside GT
Royal Challengers Bengaluru suffered a heavy defeat to Sunrisers Hyderabad in their final IPL 2026 league game after conceding 255 runs. Despite the loss, RCB secured a top-two finish and will face Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 1.
In their final league game of the season, Royal Challengers Bengaluru suffered an embarrassing 55-run defeat to Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL 2026. They were schooled with the ball in the first innings and multiple dropped catches only made it worse for the Rajat Patidar-led side.
Hyderabad, on the other hand, opted to bat first after winning the toss and from the very first over, they decimated the visitors. Abhishek Sharma once again managed to keep the scoreboard ticking, smacking 56 runs off 22 balls, before Ishan Kishan and Heinrich Klaasen took over the business and launched a scathing attack.
Both the keepers played a fearless brand of cricket, as Kishan made 79 runs off 46 balls, while Klaasen added 51 off 24. They stitched a partnership of 113 runs that pushed RCB out of the contest in the middle overs. Towards the fag end of the match, Nitish Kumar Reddy played a brilliant cameo of 29 runs off 12 balls, as Hyderabad posted 255 runs on the board in the first innings.
When it comes to RCB, the experienced duo of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood went wicketless and also conceded over 50 runs in their quota of four overs. That more or less summed RCB’s evening.
What happened in the second innings?
In the second innings, the Hyderabad bowlers managed to keep up with the momentum. In the absence of both Phil Salt and Jacob Bethell, Venkatesh Iyer was asked to open and the all-rounder played some good cricket, scoring 44 runs off 19 balls. He set the tone for the Rajat Patidar-led side, but the batters failed to keep up with the momentum.
Star batter Virat Kohli departed for 15 runs, while Devdutt Padikkal added 21. Batting at four, Patidar made 56 runs off 39 balls, before Travis Head sent him back to the pavilion in the 19th over of the game.
With that, RCB suffered a humongous defeat, which could hurt their confidence. Nevertheless, the team managed to confirm their berth at the top of the table, which will allow the team an additional opportunity to qualify for the final. Next up, they will play Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 1.
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