IPL 2026: Should RCB have gone for the win vs SRH? Qualifier 1 priority in 255 chase spilt fans

Royal Challengers Bengaluru may have secured the bigger prize from Hyderabad on Friday night, but the manner in which they approached their 256-run chase against Sunrisers Hyderabad has now opened up an entirely different debate among fans online.

After losing by 55 runs at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, RCB still managed to finish inside the IPL 2026 top two and seal their place in Qualifier 1 thanks to Net Run Rate. In tournament terms, that is massive because a top-two finish gives teams two opportunities to reach the IPL final.

SRH vs RCB, IPL 2026: SCORECARD | HIGHLIGHTS

But while the qualification math worked perfectly for RCB, many fans were left frustrated watching the defending champions seemingly shift focus midway through the chase from winning the match to simply protecting their qualification scenario.

And social media immediately split into two sides.

One section questioned why RCB appeared to back away from the chase after a flying start, especially on a batting surface where SRH themselves had crossed 250 comfortably. The other side argued that once Virat Kohli got dismissed and the risk of a batting collapse emerged, protecting Qualifier 1 became the smarter cricketing decision.

HOW RCB APPROACHED 255 CHASE VS SRH

Venkatesh Iyer came out aggressively and smashed 44 off just 19 balls while Virat Kohli looked positive early on. RCB raced to 75 runs in the powerplay despite losing two wickets, and for a brief period, SRH were being forced to think defensively.

But the momentum shifted sharply after the powerplay.

Kohli departed for 15 and suddenly the run flow completely slowed down. In a chase of 256, RCB surprisingly took until the 13th over to even reach the 120-run mark, and from there onwards, the innings increasingly looked more focused on qualification security than genuinely threatening SRH’s total.

That slow-down became the biggest talking point online.

Rajat Patidar and Krunal Pandya added 84 runs together off 57 balls, which in isolation is not a poor partnership at all. But in the context of such a gigantic chase, it never truly created scoreboard pressure on SRH.

Patidar completed another half-century and ended with 53 off 37 balls, but it was one of those knocks the RCB captain himself probably would not look back at too fondly despite the milestone. A strike rate of 143.24 in a 250-plus chase felt unusually subdued for someone who has built his entire season around fearless intent and momentum-shifting batting.

The delayed arrival of hitters like Tim David and Jitesh Sharma only added more fuel to the online debate.

Many RCB supporters defended the approach by pointing towards the bigger picture. Their argument was simple: RCB did begin the chase seriously, but once Kohli got out, the batting lineup carried the danger of collapsing completely under scoreboard pressure.

And when Qualifier 1 is on the line, taking unnecessary risks simply may not have been worth it.

The thinking from that side of the fanbase was that this may have looked timid or defensive, but it was the smarter decision rather than the emotional one.

Especially because finishing in the top two offers a huge playoff advantage.

One defeat in Qualifier 1 still leaves a second route into the final through Qualifier 2 against the Eliminator winner. Had RCB collapsed heavily while chasing and slipped below SRH on Net Run Rate, they would have lost that safety cushion entirely.

WHY DID FANS DISLIKE RCB’S APPROACH?

Former India cricketer Irfan Pathan was among those who questioned some of the tactical calls during the chase, particularly around batting order decisions.

“Jitesh Sharma should have come to bat….RCB finished the league stage at number one despite injury issues from trophy winning combination last year,” Pathan posted on X.

The delayed arrival of big-hitters like Jitesh Sharma and Tim David became a major discussion point among fans as well. In a 256-run chase, many felt RCB should have fully committed to attack rather than balancing aggression with qualification calculations.

But RCB captain Rajat Patidar’s post-match comments made it fairly clear what the team’s overall assessment of the game had been.

“The top priority was to be at the top, but I think there were a lot of runs in the first innings. I think 255 is a good score on this wicket. And I think, as I mentioned earlier, their five bowlers executed the slow bouncers and yorkers pretty well,” Patidar said after the match.

Ironically, even SRH themselves understand the importance of finishing in the top two perhaps better than anyone.

Ishan Kishan, who played a stunning innings of 79 off 44 balls and walked away with the Player of the Match award, admitted after the game that securing a top-two finish had always been a major objective for teams this season.

“From day one, even when I was leading the side, we had that in mind, we want to finish in the top two because it does give an opportunity for a team to reach the final easily,” Kishan said.

RCB may not have won the game in Hyderabad.

But in their minds, they probably walked away believing they secured something far more valuable.

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