Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) stand-in captain Jitesh Sharma struck a reflective tone after their 42-run defeat to Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), calling it a “good sign” ahead of their crucial final league match and upcoming IPL 2025 playoffs.
In what was a missed opportunity for RCB to top the table and overtake Gujarat Titans, Hyderabad played spoilers yet again, following their earlier elimination of Lucknow Super Giants from playoff contention. Ishan Kishan’s unbeaten 94 off 48 balls and consistent contributions from SRH’s top and middle order led them to a daunting 231/6. Despite a strong start from Virat Kohli (43) and Philip Salt (62), RCB were bundled out for 189, handing SRH a morale-boosting win.
Post-match, Jitesh admitted his team lacked sharpness and conceded 20–30 runs too many.
“I think it was 20–30 runs extra. They played very well. I didn’t have any answers for their attack. We were rusty. The intensity was not there initially,” he said during the presentation.
The skipper also opened up about Tim David’s injury, who pulled his hamstring while fielding in the final over of the SRH innings. Despite the setback, David came out to bat visibly uncomfortable in the 17th over but soon perished trying to go big.
“Right now, I haven’t met David because I was upset I got out,” Jitesh shared, revealing his own disappointment after falling cheaply.
While the loss marked RCB’s first away defeat in this season’s campaign, Jitesh remained optimistic.
“Sometimes losing a game is a very good sign because you can check and analyse… After this loss, we’ve got a setback to check [things] again. We’ll move forward,” he said.
Despite the defeat, RCB remains in third place on the points table with 17 points, well in contention for the playoffs. Meanwhile, Sunrisers Hyderabad, already out of the playoff race, showed great resolve and character in finishing their campaign on a high.
With one group game left, RCB will aim to regroup and fix the cracks exposed in this encounter before entering the high-pressure playoff stages of IPL 2025.