New Delhi: Phil Salt grabbed the limelight during the IPL 2026 clash between RCB and SRH on Saturday after claiming two sensational catches at the boundary rope. After SRH were put into bat first by holders RCB in the season-opener, the defending champions started off on a roll by taking three quick wickets inside the powerplay.
After losing the top three batters, Ishan Kishan and Heinrich Klaasen stood tall for Hyderabad coming up with a perfect rescue act to take Sunrisers to a formidable position. Just as the duo added 97 runs for the fourth wicket, a fantastic catch from Salt helped RCB break the lethal stand between the players.
Romario Shepherd’s delivery in the 14th over did the magic as Klaasen aimed to smash the ball out of the boundary but Salt showcased some athleticism at the rope to end his innings on 31. Since the catch was taken very close to the rope so the on-field umpire referred it upstairs but it was ultimately found clean, which led to Klaasen leaving the field.
Watch the splendid catch
Your call. I believe the cushion clearly was displaced by Salt’s feet while completing the catch. Not out and six, bad call, don’t know how you can fluff that up as a third umpire. Klaasen was not out.#IPL2026 https://t.co/yQDyLM6BY8 pic.twitter.com/7HzMiQqSvR
— Adarsh (@adarshisit) March 28, 2026
Meanwhile few overs later in the 16th being bowled by Abhinandan Singh, Salt almost replicated his effort at the boundary rope to grab another stunner and dismiss the well-set Kishan for 80 off 38 balls. With a blistering knock, Kishan earlier completed 3000 runs in the cash-rich league and was aiming to covert the half-century into a ton when he was sent back.
Watch the video
pic.twitter.com/1z5hRZWRXu
— Ritika Sajdeh FC (@07csk07) March 28, 2026
At the end of the stipulated 20 overs, SRH put up a challenging total of 201/9 runs on the board in the first match of the season. Apart from Kishan and Klaasen, Aniket Verma played a solid cameo of 43 runs in just 18 balls to take the one-time winners beyond the 200-run mark. For RCB, Jacob Duffy and Romario Shepherd claimed three wickets apiece.