Sunrisers Hyderabad produced a dominant all-round performance to defeat defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru by 55 runs in their final league-stage match of IPL 2026 on Friday (May 22). However, despite the emphatic victory at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad, Pat Cummins’ side fell short of securing a top-two finish in the IPL 2026 points table due to net run rate (NRR).
After being asked to bat first, SRH piled up a massive total of 255/4 in 20 overs. However, to overtake RCB in the standings, Hyderabad needed a victory margin of at least 90 runs. While they comfortably won the contest, the margin was not enough to improve their NRR beyond Bengaluru’s.
As a result, SRH finished third in the IPL 2026 points table with 18 points, level with RCB and Gujarat Titans. Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Gujarat Titans secured the top two spots and will now face each other in Qualifier 1 at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala on May 26.
Sunrisers Hyderabad will now take on the fourth-placed team in the Eliminator match scheduled for May 27 in New Chandigarh. The winner of Qualifier 1 will directly qualify for the IPL 2026 final, while the losing side will get another opportunity in Qualifier 2 against the winner of the Eliminator.
IPL 2026 Points Table After SRH vs RCB
| Position | Team | Matches | Wins | Losses | Points | NRR |
| 1 | Royal Challengers Bengaluru | 14 | 9 | 5 | 18 | 0.912 |
| 2 | Gujarat Titans | 14 | 9 | 5 | 18 | 0.731 |
| 3 | Sunrisers Hyderabad | 14 | 9 | 5 | 18 | 0.645 |
| 4 | Rajasthan Royals | 14 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 0.201 |
| 5 | Punjab Kings | 13 | 6 | 7 | 12 | 0.088 |
| 6 | Kolkata Knight Riders | 14 | 6 | 8 | 12 | -0.114 |
| 7 | Mumbai Indians | 13 | 5 | 8 | 10 | -0.227 |
| 8 | Delhi Capitals | 13 | 5 | 8 | 10 | -0.441 |
| 9 | Chennai Super Kings | 14 | 4 | 10 | 8 | -0.862 |
| 10 | Lucknow Super Giants | 14 | 4 | 10 | 8 | -1.021 |
