Rajat Patidar Reacts As RCB Finish Top Of IPL 2026 Points Table Despite SRH Defeat

Rajat Patidar admitted SRH outplayed RCB in Hyderabad but expressed satisfaction after Bengaluru sealed a top-two IPL 2026 finish despite the defeat.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru ended the IPL 2026 league stage at the top of the standings despite suffering a 55-run loss against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Friday.

Although RCB failed to chase down the mammoth target of 256, Rajat Patidar’s fighting half-century ensured the defending champions stayed ahead on net run rate and officially booked a place in Qualifier 1. After the game, Patidar credited SRH’s bowlers for executing their plans effectively.

“Obviously their top five batters played really well and they dominated throughout. The slower balls were gripping a bit but they executed really well,” Patidar said.

“Hyderabad is a good wicket but when you bowl slower balls into the wicket and it’s tough for batters. They executed the slower bouncers and yorkers pretty well. Top priority was to be at the top,” he stated.

Abhishek, Kishan And Klaasen Power SRH To 255

Sunrisers Hyderabad produced one of their best batting displays of the season after opting to bat first. Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma launched an explosive opening stand before Rashik Salam dismissed Head for 26 off just 16 balls.

Abhishek continued the assault alongside Ishan Kishan and raced to a destructive half-century before Suyash Sharma removed him for 56 from only 22 deliveries.

Kishan then took charge with Heinrich Klaasen as the duo stitched together a massive 113-run partnership. Klaasen smashed a rapid 51 off 24 balls before Krunal Pandya finally broke the stand.

ALSO READ | Ravi Shastri Wants 15-Year-Old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi Fast-Tracked Into India T20 Debut

Kishan remained unbeaten on 79 from 46 deliveries, while Nitish Kumar Reddy added a cameo of 29 from 12 balls as SRH finished with a commanding 255-run total.

Patidar Fights Back But RCB Fall Short

RCB began their chase aggressively through Virat Kohli and Venkatesh Iyer. The pair added 60 runs quickly before Eshan Malinga dismissed Iyer after an entertaining 44-run knock.

Shakib Hussain then removed Kohli cheaply for 15, while Devdutt Padikkal contributed 21 before depa

ALSO READ | Virat Kohli Praises Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues; Opens Up On Purpose Beyond Records

The RCB captain scored 56 off 39 balls before being dismissed by Travis Head. Krunal Pandya chipped in with 41, while Tim David stayed unbeaten on 15, but Bengaluru eventually finished on 200, well short of SRH’s massive score.