Hyderabad win the dead rubber that wasn't — and the 4th-place fight cracks wide open
SRH torched RCB by 55 last night to lock the top three on points; tonight Punjab walk into Lucknow with their playoffs on the line and three contenders watching every ball.
How last night went · Match 67 at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Uppal, Hyderabad
200/4 (20) — Rajat Patidar (38) · Devdutt Padikkal (35)
Bowling: Pat Cummins (SRH) · Bhuvneshwar Kumar 1/40 (RCB)
Toss: SRH won, opted to bat · Player of the Match: Ishan Kishan
The one to remember
Abhishek's 56 off 22 had the powerplay roaring, but it was Kishan walking in at three and batting until the 18th over that turned a fast start into 255. His 79 was paced — 31 in the first 20 balls, then a deliberate gear-shift into Klaasen and Reddy at the death. RCB never recovered the run-rate; Patidar's 38 was the highest individual score in the chase and that tells the story by itself.
The moments that decided it
- Hit Abhishek's first six overs. 56 off 22, five sixes — RCB conceded 72 in the powerplay and the chase math was set right there.
- Hit Kishan at three. Batted through to the 18th, never less than a run a ball, anchor and accelerator in one knock.
- Hit Klaasen + Reddy at the death. 80 off the last 36 balls between them after Kishan's exit — RCB had no answer to the late surge.
- Miss RCB's powerplay over-rate of leather. Conceding 72 in six overs against this SRH top order was always going to mean an above-par chase.
- Miss No partnership above 60 in the chase. Patidar 38, Padikkal 35, Kohli failed — RCB needed one big stand and never got it.
- Turning point Kishan's pull off Bhuvneshwar in the 14th over took SRH past 180 with six wickets and overs in hand; from there it was a question of how big, not whether.
Tonight on the field · Match 68
Stakes: Punjab are in must-win territory after a six-match slide dropped them to fifth on net run rate. LSG are mathematically out but playing for pride at home — every ball tonight matters for the four-team scrap behind RCB/GT/SRH.
Matchup to watch: Shashank Singh in the middle order vs Bishnoi's wrist spin — Bishnoi has averaged 14.2 against Punjab's middle this season and Shashank is Punjab's death-overs heart.
Pitch: Ekana has averaged 162 in first innings this year, a slower track than most. Toss-and-bowl is the read, but Punjab might prefer setting a target on a surface that gets harder under lights.
Where things stand
| # | Team | M | W | L | Pts | NRR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | RCB | 14 | 9 | 5 | 18 | 0.783 |
| 2 | GT | 14 | 9 | 5 | 18 | 0.695 |
| 3 | SRH | 14 | 9 | 5 | 18 | 0.524 |
| 4 | RR | 13 | 7 | 6 | 14 | 0.083 |
| 5 | PBKS | 13 | 6 | 6 | 13 | 0.227 |
| 6 | KKR | 13 | 6 | 6 | 13 | 0.011 |
| 7 | CSK | 14 | 6 | 8 | 12 | -0.345 |
| 8 | DC | 13 | 6 | 7 | 12 | -0.871 |
| 9 | MI | 13 | 4 | 9 | 8 | -0.510 |
| 10 | LSG | 13 | 4 | 9 | 8 | -0.702 |
Where every fan stands tonight
- RCB — Top of the table on points but the 55-run hammering at Uppal cost serious net run rate. Still favourites for Qualifier 1 once the league finishes — but no rest until matches 68-70 are done.
- GT — Locked into the top two. Sudharsan and Gill have been the season's most consistent opening pair; bowling rotation is the only soft spot.
- SRH — Up to third with 18 points — last night's win was a statement that they belong in the top four conversation. NRR now positive at +0.524.
- PBKS — Sixth on points but fifth on NRR — six losses in a row have turned a top-two season into a survival sprint. Win tonight at Ekana or it's over.
- RR — Fourth on points with one league fixture left. Sooryavanshi has been the league's biggest story all season; Royals will be watching tonight's Lucknow result very closely.
- CSK — Officially out. The end of an era at Chepauk — first playoff miss since 2022. Stephen Fleming exit conversations now live above the line.
- KKR — Six wins in seven after a 0-6 start — the comeback no one was forecasting. Tied with PBKS on points, slightly better NRR, still one match in hand.
- DC — Mathematically alive but on the edge. Need to win their last fixture AND PBKS to lose tonight AND results to fall their way on NRR. Long odds.
- MI — Eliminated. Bumrah's spells held up; the batting top order didn't show up in May. Hardik will want a long off-season think.
- LSG — Out. Captaincy, batting position, bowling rotation — Lucknow's winter conversation list reads like a feature-length screenplay.
Names worth knowing
Orange Cap
- Sai Sudarshan (Gujarat Titans) — 638 runs
- Shubman Gill (Gujarat Titans) — 616 runs
- Heinrich Klaasen (Sunrisers Hyderabad) — 606 runs
- Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (Rajasthan Royals) — 579 runs
- Ishan Kishan (Sunrisers Hyderabad) — 569 runs
Purple Cap
- Bhuvneshwar Kumar (Royal Challengers Bengaluru) — 24 wkts
- Anshul Kamboj (Chennai Super Kings) — 21 wkts
- Rashid Khan (Gujarat Titans) — 19 wkts
Around the boundary
The fourth-spot maths — four teams alive, three days to settle it. RR sit fourth on 14 points with one match left. PBKS, KKR both on 13 with games tonight and tomorrow. DC are mathematically alive at 12 but need everything to break their way. Three league matches still to come: tonight (LSG vs PBKS), then 69 and 70 over the next 48 hours. The eliminator slot won't be decided until the last ball of Match 70 is bowled.
Punjab's six-match collapse — from playoff lock to elimination edge. PBKS were 6-2 in early April and looked Qualifier-1 bound. Six straight losses since — including a 23-run defeat to RCB at Dharamsala and a 32-run loss to GT in Ahmedabad — have wiped that lead. Ponting is reportedly reviewing tactics night after night with Iyer; the dressing room mood is described as 'quiet but not broken'.
RCB top of the table despite the loss — and the NRR cost is real. Last night's 55-run defeat dropped RCB's net run rate from +1.065 to +0.783. They're still on top with 18 points, but Gujarat (NRR +0.695) closed the gap considerably. If the playoffs throw up an RCB vs GT Qualifier 1 — and they look likely to — the top spot will matter for second-bite-at-Q2 reasons.
Bhuvneshwar's quiet night ends a remarkable streak. RCB's veteran took 1/40 last night — his worst economy figure of the season. Going wicketless in the powerplay for the first time in nine matches. The Purple Cap is still his with 24 wickets, but Rashid Khan (Gujarat, 19) is now within striking distance with Gujarat's last league match still to play.
Tomorrow
RR vs KKR (Match 69). Two of the four playoff-contenders meet head-on. Whichever team wins goes to the cusp of Qualifier 1; the loser hands DC a mathematical pulse and PBKS a clearer path.
Sources: https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/ipl-2026-1510719/sunrisers-hyderabad-vs-royal-challengers-bengaluru-67th-match-1529310/full-scorecard, https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/ipl-2026-1510719/match-schedule-fixtures-and-results, https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/ipl-2026-1510719/points-table-standings, https://www.sportskeeda.com/cricket/srh-vs-rcb-ipl-2026-full-list-award-winners-player-match-scorecard-records, https://www.latestly.com/sports/cricket/todays-ipl-match-live-check-indian-premier-league-2026-schedule-for-may-23-7442689.html · fmd-data canonical layer (wikipedia:2026_Indian_Premier_League).