Sunrisers Hyderabad head coach Daniel Vettori admitted that poor bowling discipline cost his side dearly against Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal as Royal Challengers Bengaluru cruised to a dominant victory in the IPL 2026 opener in Bengaluru.
Chasing 202 at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, RCB made light work of the target, getting home in just 15.4 overs. After the loss, Vettori explained how SRH’s lack of ball control allowed the RCB batsmen to dictate terms.
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“I think 200, maybe a couple of years ago, you would have felt safe with that. But we understand where the game has gone now and how destructive RCB’s batting line-up is. You have to get off to a good start, which we did with Phil Salt, but we weren’t at our best with the ball.”
“We weren’t as disciplined as we needed to be and we gave a lot of scoring opportunities to Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal who played exceptionally well. I thought the intent Padikkal showed when he came on put us back under pressure where we should have been able to maintain control after that important stage.”
Padikkal blasted 61 off just 26 balls, including a 21-ball fifty, set the tone for the chase as Kohli anchored the innings with an unbeaten 69. Rajat Patidar’s quickfire 31 also ensured no one was let go as RCB began their title defense in emphatic fashion.
Earlier, SRH posted a competitive 201 for nine after being asked to bat first. Stand-in captain Ishan Kishan led the charge with a 38-ball 80 after a shaky start, with Ankit Verma adding valuable late runs. However, the total proved insufficient against the relentless RCB batting.
DID SRH DEPEND TOO MUCH ON DAVID PAYNE VS RCB?
Vettori also shed light on SRH’s reliance on David Payne, who just joined the team as a back-up option just a day before the start of IPL 2026.
“We didn’t see him in the nets because he only arrived yesterday. It was difficult with Brydon Carse injured. Carse would have played if he was fit but unfortunately he wasn’t.” Payne just arrived a day before the RCB vs SRH IPL 2026 opener. (PTI Photo)
“So we put a lot of pressure on David right after he arrived. But he’s played 200-300 T20s and has been effective in most countries he’s played in. His strengths are his variation and accuracy, so we felt he could offer that balance.”
Despite two quick wickets, Payne struggled overall, conceding 35 runs in his three overs. With key players like Pat Cummins and Brydon Carse unavailable, SRH’s bowling attack lacked cutting edge and struggled to contain RCB’s aggressive approach.
The defeat once again highlighted SRH’s reliance on disciplined bowling, especially on a batting-friendly surface like Bengaluru. Without this check, even more than 200 have been shown to be unsafe.
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Issued by:
Debodinna Chakraborty
Published on:
29 March 2026 07:08 IST
