Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) are facing each other in an important clash in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Friday, May 22. While both teams have made it to the playoffs, they would want to win on Friday to push for a place in the top two. A win for RCB will be enough, while SRH would have to triumph by a massive margin to make their net run rate better than that of the Gujarat Titans.
SRH vs RCB: Toss Update
Pat Cummins won the toss and opted to bat, saying that his batters will look to post a huge first-innings total. Rajat Patidar, who returned to the side after missing the last game for RCB against the Punjab Kings in Dharamsala, seemed content with bowling first.
SRH vs RCB: Rajat Patidar replaces Jacob Bethell, SRH go unchanged
Patidar replaced the out-of-form Jacob Bethell. The RCB skipper mentioned that Bethell had sustained a finger injury, which forced him to miss the game. SRH, on the other hand, go in with the same team that played their last game.
SRH vs RCB: What did the captains say?
Pat Cummins, SRH captain,
We’ll bat first. I think it’s a long shot getting in the top two, but we’ll give it a good crack tonight. We’ve been pretty clear that the boys are going to enjoy it tonight. We’re going to test out how good you are, maybe try a few new things ahead of the finals. But just, again, bat first, try and score as big as we can see if we can defend. (On this season) Yeah, it’s been really pleasing to get the qualification before this last game. The guys have been really consistent all year. So, yeah, this one, probably the last one before we start getting really serious. (On the supporters) They’ve been amazing here at Uppal. All the streets have been lined, the hotel’s been busy the last few days. Yeah, we’ve had pretty won every night game here as well this season. So, hopefully finish off on a good note. Same combination as the last game.
Rajat Patidar, RCB captain,Â
I feel, wherever we go, it’s a home game for us. (What do you want to take out of this game?) According to me, I think it doesn’t matter where you are standing in the points table. Whether you are on the top or the bottom, you have to play and you have to match the standards in every game. (On ticking a lot of boxes this season) Yeah, that’s what I think. That’s important when you play a competitive game like IPL, very difficult. It’s important if you win, if you are targeting a final match to win the championship, you have to tick all the boxes. (On not having too many injuries) Yeah, definitely. This time we are not facing any kind of injury. There’s one change. Bethell got injured. He got an injury in his finger and I’m coming in place of Bethell.
SRH vs RCB: Playing XIs
Sunrisers Hyderabad
Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan (WK), Heinrich Klaasen, Salil Arora, Smaran Ravichandran, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Pat Cummins (C), Shivang Kumar, Eshan Malinga, Sakib Hussain
Impact Substitutes: Praful Hinge, Aniket Verma, Liam Livingstone, Harsh Dubey, Harshal Patel
Royal Challengers Bengaluru
Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar (C), Venkatesh Iyer, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Krunal Pandya, Romario Shepherd, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Suyash Sharma, Rasikh Salam Dar
Impact Substitutes: Tim David, Kanishk Chouhan, Swapnil Singh, Abhinandan Singh, Jordan Cox
