Rajat Patidar admitted that there were "a lot of runs" on the board after Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) posted a massive 255/4 against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 league-stage encounter on Friday.
SRH's batting onslaught
Powered by half-centuries from Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, and Heinrich Klaasen, SRH amassed a huge total at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium after captain Pat Cummins opted to bat first. The hosts eventually won the match by 55 runs, but the victory was insufficient to secure a top-two finish. Both teams ended the league stage with 18 points each.
RCB's net run rate advantage
RCB needed to score at least 166 runs to stay ahead of SRH on net run rate even in defeat, and they managed to do so by finishing on 200/4. Despite the loss, RCB finished atop the table with a net run rate of 0.783, ahead of Gujarat Titans, who also had 18 points but a lower net run rate of 0.695. SRH ended the league stage in third place.
RCB's aggressive start
RCB started aggressively through their new opening pair of Venkatesh Iyer and Virat Kohli, who added 60 runs in just 27 balls. After both batters were dismissed within a gap of 14 runs, Devdutt Padikkal continued the attack before being caught in the deep off Eshan Malinga.
Patidar's post-match analysis
Speaking after the match, Patidar said SRH's batting and bowling execution made the difference. "Obviously, I think their top five batsmen played really well, and they purely dominated in the first innings." Asked if there were too many runs on the board, Patidar said: "The top priority was to be on the top, but I think, there were a lot of runs in the first inning. I think 255 is a good score on this wicket. And I think their five bowlers executed the slow bouncers and yorkers pretty well."
"The slow bouncer was gripping a bit, but I think the way... their strength is slow bouncers and yorkers, they executed pretty well." When asked whether it was difficult to hit the slow bouncers, Patidar said, "Obviously, Hyderabad, I think it's a good wicket, but when you start bowling slow bouncers, slow into the wicket, I think it's really tough for the batsman to score the runs."
Stay updated with the latest IPL Live Score, IPL news on Times of India. Follow the IPL Schedule, check the IPL Points Table, and track the race for the IPL Orange Cap and IPL Purple Cap.
