Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) host Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the 67th and final league-stage match of IPL 2026 on Friday, May 22, 2026, at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad, starting at 7:30 PM IST. For your Dream11 team, Virat Kohli is the top captain pick. He leads the Orange Cap standings with 542 runs at an average of 54.20 this season, and the flat, true-bounce Uppal surface — where RCB won the season opener against SRH — is ideally suited to his placement-driven, timing-first batting approach.
Heinrich Klaasen or Bhuvneshwar Kumar work well as vice-captain options, covering SRH’s most consistent middle-order batter who averages 50.80 and is IPL 2026’s highest run-scorer and RCB’s Purple Cap holder who took 3 wickets against this exact SRH batting lineup at Chinnaswamy in the season opener and now returns to a ground he knows better than anyone.
SRH vs RCB Match Preview, IPL 2026
| Match Detail | Info |
|---|---|
| Match | SRH vs RCB, IPL 2026 Match 67 |
| Date | Friday, May 22, 2026 |
| Time | 7:30 PM IST |
| Venue | Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad (Uppal) |
| Broadcast | Star Sports Network, JioHotstar |
| SRH Captain | Pat Cummins |
| RCB Captain | Rajat Patidar |
| RCB Coach | Andy Flower |
| Key Absentees | Phil Salt (RCB — finger injury; not yet recovered; unlikely to play; playoff availability being monitored); Travis Head (SRH — being managed as Impact Player in recent games; starting XI to be confirmed at toss) |
| SRH Season Form | 3rd place — 8 wins, 5 losses in 13 matches; 16 points; level on points with GT but behind on NRR; beat CSK in Match 63 to seal playoff berth; a win here secures a top-two finish and Qualifier 1 spot |
| RCB Season Form | 1st place — 9 wins, 4 losses in 13 matches; 18 points; on a 3-match winning streak; already assured of top spot if they win; Bhuvneshwar Kumar leads the Purple Cap standings with 24 wickets |
SRH vs RCB Predicted Playing XI & Key Players
Here are the predicted playing XI and key players to watch out for from both teams.
SRH Predicted Playing XI
SRH Predicted XI: Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan (WK), Heinrich Klaasen, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Smaran Ravichandran, Salil Arora, Pat Cummins (C), Shivang Kumar, Harsh Dubey, Eshan Malinga, Sakib Hussain
Impact Player: Travis Head
RCB Predicted Playing XI
RCB Predicted XI: Venkatesh Iyer, Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar (C), Jitesh Sharma (WK), Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Rasikh Salam Dar, Josh Hazlewood
Impact Player: Jacob Bethell
SRH vs RCB Weather & Pitch Reports
| Weather Parameter | Details |
|---|---|
| Daytime High | 38°C (100°F) |
| Match-Time Temp | 29–32°C (84–90°F) |
| Humidity | 40–52% — moderate for a Hyderabad evening in late May |
| Wind Speed | 10–16 km/h (light to moderate south-easterly breeze; may assist early swing for new-ball pacers in the powerplay) |
| Rain Probability | Very Low (0–5%) — clear Hyderabad skies expected throughout; a complete 40-over contest is confirmed |
| Sky Condition | Clear to Partly Cloudy; warm and pleasant under lights |
| Dew Factor | Moderate to Heavy — Uppal evening matches consistently produce significant dew from the 12th to 15th over of the second innings; in humid late-May conditions, dew arrives early and makes the ball extremely difficult to grip for spinners; the chasing team gains a decisive structural advantage in the back half of the innings |
| Match Interruption Risk | Very Low |
Pitch Report — Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad
| Pitch Parameter | Details |
|---|---|
| Pitch Type | Batting-Friendly (flat, true surface; lightning-fast outfield; consistent pace and bounce throughout the innings; one of IPL 2026’s premier high-scoring venues |
| Avg 1st Innings Score (IPL 2026) | 201 runs across 6 matches at Uppal this season; 4 of 6 matches were won by the team batting first — a notable departure from the chasing trend seen at most other IPL 2026 venues |
| Boundary Length | Square: 67–70m; Straight: 70–75m; compact enough to reward clean hitting, but large enough that timing matters more than brute power |
| Toss Decision | Bat first — 4 of 6 Uppal games in IPL 2026 were won by the team batting first; this is the clearest bat-first signal of any active IPL 2026 venue |
| Pace Assist | Excellent with the new ball throughout the first innings — Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Rasikh Salam Dar, Eshan Malinga, and Pat Cummins are all key new-ball and death threats; the south-easterly breeze at Uppal assists swing marginally in the powerplay |
| Spin Assist | Moderate in the middle overs — the Uppal surface is not a spin-grip track; spinners are primarily containment options between overs 7 and 14; dew from the 12th to 15th over of the second innings removes spin entirely as a threat in the death |
| Dew Effect | Significant from the 12th to 15th over of the second innings — dew is a reliable and consistent factor at Uppal under evening lights; ball grip deteriorates for bowlers, spinners are withdrawn from the attack, and seamers benefit from extra pace off the surface |
SRH vs RCB Dream11 Team
SRH vs RCB Head-to-Head
| Matches | SRH Wins | RCB Wins | No Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 27 | 13 | 13 | 1 |
Suggested Reads:
Key Players to Watch in SRH vs RCB
| Player | Team | Role | Key Strength |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virat Kohli | RCB | Batsman | Orange Cap leader with 542 runs at avg 54.20 and SR 163.98 in IPL 2026; three of the four highest individual run tallies in the tournament feature in this match — Kohli’s placement game and timing on the flat Uppal surface makes him the standout captain pick and highest-ceiling batter in the fixture |
| Heinrich Klaasen | SRH | Wicketkeeper-Batter | IPL 2026’s leading run-scorer overall with 524 runs at avg 50.80 across 13 matches; five fifties this season; his middle-order power and ability to accelerate from overs 10 to 15 on a flat Uppal surface has been SRH’s most consistent match-winning weapon throughout the campaign |
| Bhuvneshwar Kumar | RCB | Bowler | Purple Cap leader with 24 wickets at economy 7.46 — the most wickets and best economy of any IPL 2026 bowler; dismissed both SRH openers Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma in the reverse fixture at Chinnaswamy in March; his return to Uppal, a ground where he won matches for SRH for nearly a decade, is the biggest narrative sub-plot of the final league match |
| Abhishek Sharma | SRH | Batsman | SR of 209.13 — the highest among all 400-plus run scorers in IPL 2026; his left-handed aggressive style against right-arm pace is a direct challenge for Bhuvneshwar’s swing in the powerplay; if he survives the opening overs, SRH can post an unreachable total on this flat surface |
| Travis Head | SRH | Batsman | SRH’s most destructive batter when fit and available; being used as an Impact Player in recent games to manage his workload heading into the playoffs; if he enters the match in the powerplay as expected, his record at Uppal (SR 198.65 at this venue in IPL history) makes him the highest-ceiling individual pick for the first innings |
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