Ravichandran Ashwin, a former Indian cricketer, predicts that Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) will defeat Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the IPL 2026 opening match at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Saturday.
In recent years, both teams have won three matches each. However, SRH has won two of their last three encounters with RCB. This includes SRH scoring 287/3 against RCB in IPL 2024, which is the highest score ever in an IPL match. Despite RCB’s chase of 262/7, SRH emerged victorious by 25 runs.
Ashwin believes SRH will win again, partly due to RCB’s absence of Hazlewood, who was also missing in a previous match. He notes that while RCB might struggle initially, he expects them to find their rhythm eventually.
RCB is the defending champion, having won IPL 2025 by defeating Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the final. Their last match against SRH in IPL 2025 saw SRH winning by 42 runs at the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow. RCB was bowled out for 189 while chasing 232.
Overall, SRH and RCB have faced each other 26 times in IPL history, with SRH winning 13 matches and RCB winning 11.
SRH will be without regular skipper Pat Cummins initially, with Ishan Kishan leading the team. The last time SRH won the IPL title was in 2016 when they defeated RCB under David Warner’s leadership.