May 24, 2025 - Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) played against Sunrisers Hyderabad today with a simple goal — a win would almost guarantee them a spot in the top two. But Bengaluru lost the match at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow. Batting first, Hyderabad scored 231 runs for the loss of 6 wickets. In reply, Bengaluru was all out for 189 runs.

Bengaluru fans might jokingly blame Virat Kohli for the 42-run loss. If Kohli had scored a 50 in this match, Bengaluru might not have lost!

Kohli had batted in the chase four times before today’s match in this IPL. In those four matches, he scored 59* off 36 balls against Kolkata, 62 off 45 balls against Rajasthan, 73* off 54 balls against Punjab, and 51 off 47 balls against Delhi. In short, Kohli hit a 50 in all four matches where he batted in the second innings — and RCB won all four.

Against Hyderabad today, Kohli once again came close to a 50. He scored 43 runs off 24 balls, hitting 7 fours and 1 six. But he was dismissed before reaching the half-century mark, caught by Abhishek Sharma off Harsh Dube’s bowling. His wicket was RCB’s first loss. In previous matches, Kohli led the chase. This time, his early exit seemed to shift the match away from Bengaluru.

Still, RCB looked strong until the 15th over. At that point, Hyderabad had 168 for 5, while Bengaluru were close at 167 for 3.

But the final five overs changed everything. Hyderabad scored 64 runs for the loss of just 1 wicket. In contrast, Bengaluru lost 7 wickets for only 22 runs. While Hyderabad’s bowlers deserve credit for this collapse, Rajat Patidar also failed to perform. Only Phil Salt scored more than Kohli’s 43. Among the lower-order batsmen, stand-in captain Jitesh Sharma had the highest score.

Earlier, Ishan Kishan helped Hyderabad reach a total above 200. He came in at number three and stayed unbeaten on 94 off 48 balls, hitting 7 fours and 5 sixes. The next best score was 34 from opener Abhishek Sharma.

After this defeat, RCB has dropped from second to third place in the points table. They now have 17 points from 13 matches. Punjab are in second place with the same number of points from 12 games, while Gujarat Titans lead the table with 18 points from 13 matches. Hyderabad, already out of the playoff race, are in eighth place with 11 points from 13 matches.