The stakes are getting higher as the 2026 IPL cricket season draws to a close. The upcoming RCB vs SRH fixture is the final fixture for both teams. But which IPL team is better, RCB or SRH? By looking at the RCB vs SRH stats and the RCB vs SRH players, the full picture can be revealed.
One could look at the IPL standings and determine that RCB is the better team because they sit in first place on the points table. However, that is too simplistic a process to determine which team is better.
Here is a closer look at the stats and players for both the Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Sunrisers Hyderabad.
RCB vs SRH Players: Which Squad Has the Better Players?
GettyVirat Kohli
The first way to assess which team is better is to look at both squads and the pedigree of the players on each. Here is the most up-to-date squad list for each team.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru Players
- All-Rounders: Krunal Pandya, Swapnil Singh, Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Jacob Bethell, Venkatesh Iyer, Satvik Deswal, Mangesh Yadav, Vicky Ostwal, Vihaan Malholtra, and Kanishk Chouhan.
- Batters: Rajat Patidar, Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli, Phil Salt, Jitesh Sharma, and Jordan Cox.
- Bowlers: Josh Hazlewood, Rasikh Dar, Suyash Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Abhinandan Singh, Jacob Duffy, Richard Gleeson, and Yash Dayal.
Sunrisers Hyderabad Players
- All-Rounders: Harshal Patel, Kamindu Mendis, Harsh Dubey, Shivang Kumar, Krains Fuletra, Liam Livingstone, R.S. Ambrish, Abhishek Sharma, and Nitesh Kumar Reddy.
- Batters: Ishan Kishan, Aniket Verma, Smaran Ravichandran, Salil Arora, Heinrich Klassen, and Travis Head.
- Bowlers: Pat Cummins, Zeeshan Ansari, Jaydev Unadkat, Eshan Malinga, Sakib Hussain, Onkar Tarmale, Amit Kumar, Praful Hinge, Dilshan Madushanka, and Gerald Coetzee.
At first glance, RCB has some great IPL players who have left their mark on the league. Virat Kohli has scored the most career runs out of any batter to ever play IPL. However, SRH does not have current batters on the top 20 list.
On the other side of the ball, it’s a more level playing field. RCB has the second-highest wicket-taker in Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Additionally, Harshal Patel’s 151 career wickets have him ranked 12th on the all-time list.
Better Players: RCB has the advantage.
RCB vs SRH Stats
As far as stats go, it’s a lot easier to assess how things stand. Looking at both teams’ recent form, the situation is the same for RCB and SRH. Each team has three wins in their last five matches. The big difference between the two is that RCB is on a three-match winning streak, while SRH has a loss, splitting up their last three wins.
As for runs for and against, here is how things shake out. RCB has scored 2442 runs and allowed 2364 runs. Alternatively, SRH has scored 2599 runs and allowed 2475 runs.
Looking at those numbers, both teams have scored more runs than they have allowed this year. This is a big reason why both teams are in the top three of the 2026 IPL Points Table.
Interestingly enough, SRH has allowed more runs than the number of runs RCB has scored. This means that while SRH has a better batting lineup, RCB’s fielding and bowling prevent more runs than SRH’s.
Which Squad’s Batters Have Scored More Runs? Landed More Wickets?
While we have answered which team has scored more runs, looking at how each team’s top batters and bowlers have performed will give us a clue as to why.
Starting with batting, RCB has two batters in the top 20 of the Orange Cap race. Virat Kohli has scored 542 runs, while Devdutt Padikkal has scored 412.
Alternatively, SRH has Heinrich Klassen (555), Abhishek Sharma (507), Ishan Kishan (490), and Travis Head (367) in the top 20.
As far as bowling goes, Bhuvneshwar Kumar (24), Josh Hazlewood (12), and Rasikh Dar (12) are in the top 20 for wickets for RCB. Meanwhile, SRH boasts the likes of Eshan Malinga (17) and Sakib Hussain (14) in the Purple Cap race.
Better Batters: Advantage to SRH, who have four batters in contention for the Orange Cap.
Better Bowlers: Advantage to RCB, who have the current Purple Cap holder.
RCB vs SRH: Which Team is Better? The Verdict
The final verdict is the simple, expected conclusion: RCB’s top squad is the better team. When looking at the players and the stats, they have the edge in terms of players, especially their bowlers.
However, SRH’s bats are no slouches either, and that will be the major battle to observe during their match.
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