Riding on Ishan Kishan’s 79 and half-centuries from Abhishek Sharma and Heinrich Klaasen powered Sunrisers Hyderabad to a mammoth 255/4 in 20 overs after opting to bat first in their final group-stage match in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Friday.
Having already qualified for the IPL 2026 playoffs, both Sunrisers Hyderabad and RCB are battling out for a top-two spot after the league stage. While RCB are sitting atop the points table currently. But Sunrisers Hyderabad can dethrone RCB at the top and join Gujarat Titans in the top two if they manage to restrict the visitors 90 runs short.
Although Travid Head got out early inside the powerplay, Abhishek continued his good form alongside Kishan as they put 52 runs for the second wicket in just 26 balls. With Abhishek getting out for 56, it was Kishan and Klaasen, who put 113 runs in 48 balls for the third wicket and take the game away from RCB. Klaasen was dismissed for 51.
Kishan continued with his hitting, and was dismissed for 79 on the final delivery of the innings off Rasikh Salam Dar. Kishan dropped anchor at one end and is showing consistency that one expects from a talent like him.
No words of praise would be enough for Klaasen, who doesn’t play international cricket anymore and is the most sought after gun-for-hire in the franchise universe. In case of Kishan, RCB bowlers were guilty of bowling into his pads, allowing him to chance his arms freely.
Klaasen was neither disturbed by straight lines nor perturbed by the wide lines bowled at him. With this total, Sunrisers Hyderabad became the IPL franchise with most 250-plus scores in the tournament – 6.
By how many runs SRH need to win?
Sunrisers Hyderabad, who are placed third with 16 points, need to win the game by 90 runs to go on level with RCB on 18 points and also improve their net run rate (NRR). That means, Sunrisers Hyderabad need to restrict RCB by 165 runs to go on top. Sunrisers Hyderabad currently have a NRR of +0.350 while RCB have +1.065.
Format of IPL playoffs – all you need to know
The top two teams in the standings after the league stage will play in Qualifier 1, with the winner directly booking a spot in the summit clash. The third and fourth-placed teams will face each other in an Eliminator. The losing team in Qualifier 1 and the winner of Eliminator will then clash in Qualifier 2 to determine the second team in the final.
Catch the live updates from IPL 2026 with the complete IPL 2026 Schedule and the IPL 2026 Points Table. Also, know who are currently leading the charts in IPL 2026 Orange Cap and IPL 2026 Purple Cap.