Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s stand-in skipper Jitesh Sharma made a strange remark following a 42-run loss to Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in an IPL 2025 match in Lucknow on Friday. Jitesh said that sometimes losing a match could be a “very good sign” as it gives his team a chance to analyse and come back in the next game.

The loss to Sunrisers Hyderabad means that Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s chances of sealing a top-two spot becomes a little complicated.

How RCB lost to SRH

One could even say that the RCB vs SRH match was done and dusted post Sunrisers Hyderabad’s innings. Jitesh Sharma won the toss and said that Royal Challengers Bengaluru would field first. However, the decision to do so turned out to be a nightmare as wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan roared back to form.

Ishan Kishan has largely had a forgettable season barring a century against Rajasthan Royals (RR) very early in the season. However, on Friday, the Jharkhand cricketer handed RCB a blow to their top two hopes with an unbeaten 94 from 48 balls that took Sunrisers Hyderabad to 231/6.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru began strongly in their chase with openers Phil Salt (62) and Virat Kohli (43) forging 80 runs for the first wicket. However, Sunrisers Hyderabad gained momentum with regular wickets and needed stand-in skipper Jitesh Sharma (24) and impact player Rajat Patidar (18) to forge a strong partnership. However, their partnership for fourth wicket lasted just 44 runs and wickets started tumbling soon like nine pins.

From 120/2 at one stage, the three-time finalists were all out for 189 in 19.5 overs.

RCB’s top two chances explained

The loss to Sunrisers Hyderabad means that Royal Challengers Bengaluru have slipped to third place with 17 points from 13 matches. While they have already secured playoffs qualification, their top two chances will now depend on other results.

Finishing in the top two will give RCB an extra chance in qualifying for the final, since the loser of Qualifier 1 plays the winner of Eliminator in Qualifier 2.

Needless to say, the Rajat Patidar-led side will have to beat Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in their last league match next week. They will also need to hope that Gujarat Titans (first place, 18 points) and Punjab Kings (second place, 17 points) lose their remaining matches.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru currently have a Net Run-Rate (NRR) of +0.482, and the should beat Lucknow Super Giants by a big margin if Gujarat Titans and Punjab Kings win their last games.