NEW DELHI: Rasikh Salam Dar’s reaction after removing Travis Head captured the mood of the match as Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Sunrisers Hyderabad battled at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Friday in IPL 2026. The young pacer’s celebration—right after he struck—was followed instantly by a wave of excitement from the crowd and an even more intense response from Virat Kohli, as Head’s stumps were knocked cartwheeling.
How Rasikh Salam Dar turned the over
Head, the SRH opener, had looked in rhythm early, smashing three consecutive boundaries against the Bengaluru bowler. But Rasikh responded with a decisive yorker that hit the stumps and ended the threat immediately. With the left-hander dismissed, Rasikh raised his right hand near his ear, gesturing as if he wanted the noise back up after silencing the batter at the most crucial moment.
Virat Kohli’s celebration and Head’s quick exit
As the camera panned, Kohli’s energy stood out. The RCB veteran appeared visibly fired up, celebrating the dismissal with even greater intensity than the bowler himself. Head’s stay at the crease was short-lived thereafter.
- Travis Head finished with 26 runs off 16 balls.
- His innings included five boundaries.
Captain’s call, team changes, and playing XIs
Earlier in the contest, SRH captain Pat Cummins won the toss and chose to bat first against RCB. RCB made a personnel change ahead of the match as skipper Rajat Patidar returned to the playing XI after missing the previous game due to concussion, replacing the injured Jacob Bethell. SRH, meanwhile, stuck with the same combination from their previous outing.
Sunrisers Hyderabad playing XI
- Abhishek Sharma
- Travis Head
- Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper)
- Heinrich Klaasen
- Salil Arora
- R Smaran
- Nitish Kumar Reddy
- Pat Cummins (captain)
- Shivang Kumar
- Eshan Malinga
- Sakib Hussain
- Impact substitutes: Aniket Verma, Praful Hinge, Liam Livingstone, Harsh Dubey, Harshal Patel
Royal Challengers Bengaluru playing XI
- Venkatesh Iyer
- Virat Kohli
- Devdutt Padikkal
- Rajat Patidar (captain)
- Jitesh Sharma (wicket-keeper)
- Romario Shepherd
- Krunal Pandya
- Bhuvneshwar Kumar
- Rasikh Salam Dar
- Suyash Sharma
- Josh Hazlewood
- Impact substitutes: Tim David, Kanishk Chouhan, Swapnil Singh, Abhinandan Singh, Jordan Cox
RCB’s title credentials and IPL 2026 milestone
RCB entered the season as the defending champions, having beaten Punjab Kings in the IPL 2025 final. In IPL 2026, they also became the first side to secure qualification for the playoffs—setting the stage for another high-intensity encounter against SRH at Hyderabad.
