Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru finished at the top of the Indian Premier League standings on Friday despite suffering a 55-run defeat to Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Bengaluru ensured their top-table position by net run rate and will now host Gujarat Titans in the first playoff on Tuesday. The winner will advance directly to the IPL final on May 31 in Ahmedabad. Hyderabad, level on points with Bengaluru and Gujarat but placed third, will host the second playoff on Wednesday against an opponent yet to be decided.
Hyderabad posted a massive 255-4, their ninth total above 200 this season, powered by half-centuries from Ishan Kishan (79), Abhishek Sharma (56) and Heinrich Klaasen (51).
Chasing the target, Bengaluru needed only 166 runs to guarantee a top-two finish. After an aggressive start from Venkatesh Iyer and the early dismissals of Virat Kohli and Devdutt Paddikal, captain Rajat Patidar and Krunal Pandya focused on reaching the required target rather than chasing victory, reaching it in the 17th over. They eventually went past 178 to seal the top position.
Bengaluru ended on 200-4, with Pandya unbeaten on 41 after Patidar was dismissed for 56.
“The top priority was to be on the top (of the table). The target was a lot,” Patidar said.
“The top five (Hyderabad) batters played very well and they dominated … (and when we batted) the slower bouncer was gripping and they executed the bouncers and yorkers very well.”
Iyer, opening for the first time this season, struck four sixes and four boundaries in a quick 44 off 19 balls, but after his dismissal and Kohli’s catch at cover for 15 off 11 balls during the powerplay, Bengaluru shifted focus to qualification rather than victory.
For Hyderabad, bowlers Eshan Malinga (2-33) and Sakib Hussain (1-31) delivered standout performances.
Earlier, Hyderabad’s top order dominated Bengaluru’s pace attack, including experienced bowlers Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood, who together conceded 106 runs in eight wicketless overs.
Sharma benefitted from three dropped catches on his way to a 21-ball fifty, smashing five sixes and four boundaries. Kishan and Klaasen maintained the momentum, taking on both the pace and spin attack, including Krunal Pandya, who conceded 24 runs in two overs before dismissing Klaasen in the 17th over. Hyderabad finished with their highest total of the season.
“It’s pretty impressive to get the score that we did,” Hyderabad captain Pat Cummins said. “Everyone's hitting their straps.”