What happened the last time RCB played SRH before IPL 2025? 

The Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) are all set to square off against the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in an all-important clash in a few hours from now. While RCB have qualified for the playoffs and SRH have been eliminated, there is a lot at stake for both teams going into the contest.

With a win today, RCB can strengthen their position of qualifying among the top two teams, while SRH will look to display some of their fearless approach, which made them the runners-up in the previous season. Some of the most exciting and flamboyant players are there in both teams, so we should be in for a humdinger of a contest.

Over the years, none of the teams has found a clear edge over the other team. In 10 matches so far, both have won five matches. RCB have been one of the most consistent sides in the tournament so far, but it's important to win games at the business end and take the momentum forward to the playoffs.

When the two teams met the last time around in 2024, it was RCB who came out triumphant. They made a remarkable comeback in the back half of the group stage, winning six matches on a trot and qualified for the playoffs. With the SRH-RCB clash a few hours away, let us take a look at what happened between the two teams the last time around:

RCB registered a convincing 35-run win

The Hyderabad pitch has always been a run-scoring paradise for batters, and it was no different for RCB the last time around. Faf du Plessis won the toss and opted to bat, and along with Virat Kohli, provided a quickfire start. Faf, in particular, took the aggressive route and scored 25 off just 12 deliveries as RCB raced to 48 in the 4th over.

Faf was dismissed by T Natarajan while Mayank Markande castled Will Jacks in quick succession to put RCB on the backfoot. Kohli looked to play the anchor role while Rajat Patidar went berserk from the moment he came out to the crease. It looked like as if he was having a hit at the nets for an hour or so.

He smashed a quickfire 50 off just 20 deliveries, which included two fours and five sixes to provide the impetus RCB needed in the middle overs. Patidar fell immediately after scoring his fifty, while Virat Kohli also departed in quick succession to leave RCB at 140/4 in the 15th over.

Cameron Green played a significant knock to provide the late order surge, remaining unbeaten on 37 off 20 deliveries while Dinesh Karthik and Swapnil Singh chipped in with valuable cameos towards the end to take the score to 206 in their 20 overs. Jaydev Unadkat and T Natarajan were the pick of the SRH bowlers, bagging three and two, respectively.

SRH needed a blistering start to chase down the target and given how they had batted coming into this game, a Travis Head-Abhishek Sharma special was on the cards. However, the introduction of Will Jacks brought an early end to the innings of Head. Aiden Markram was dismissed early as well and SRH were reduced to 41/3.

Abhishek started off in a blazing fashion, scoring 31 off just 13 deliveries but couldn't quite continue the onslaught as Yash Dayal accounted for him at a crucial juncture of the game. The RCB bowlers were right on the money and never really allowed SRH to have an upper hand during the run-chase.

They kept losing wickets at regular intervals and were reduced to 85/6 in the 10th over. There was no way back for them from that position. Shahbaz Ahmed and captain Pat Cummins batted well and took the game deep but the target of 207 was always going to be a tall order. They were eventually restricted to 171, handing RCB a comprehensive 35-run win.