As has been a concerning trend in recent times, Virat Kohli's fans once again flocked to SRH and Australia batter Travis Head's comments section after a controversy erupted between the two during their IPL 2026 clash on Friday.
The Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated the Royal Challengers Bengaluru by 55 runs at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Friday. It was the last league stage game for both teams.
Heading into this game, the Sunrisers Hyderabad needed to win by approximately 90 runs to join the Gujarat Titans in the Qualifier 1 by finishing in the top two spots in the points table.
SRH gave it their best shot with their aggressive intent on a flat pitch in Hyderabad. Abhishek Sharma made 56 runs in just 22 balls, Player of the Match Ishan Kishan made 79 in 46, and Heinrich Klaasen made 51 in 24.
Nitish Kumar Reddy also made an unbeaten 29 runs in just 12 balls to push SRH to 255. RCB needed to make 166 to avoid dropping out of the top two, and 177 to remain at the top of the points table despite losing the match.
Although Virat Kohli had a quiet day, Venkatesh Iyer kept up the tempo in the powerplay, making 44 runs in just 19 balls. SRH's pace battery of Pat Cummins, Eshan Malinga, and Sakib Hussain executed their slower deliveries perfectly to restrict the RCB batters.
RCB captain Rajat Patidar made a sedate fifty while Krunal Pandya too joined in with an unbeaten 41 as RCB finished their 20 overs at 200/4 and secured the top spot on the points table.
RCB are now the third defending champion team to finish first on the points table in an IPL season.
The Virat Kohli and Travis Head controversy
The controversy seemed to have erupted during RCB's chase of 255 on Friday. While Kohli was batting, he and Travis Head seemed to exchange some words early in the innings.
Their war of words continued into the fourth over when Virat Kohli's opening partner, Venkatesh Iyer, smashed 23 runs off left-arm wristspinner Shivang Kumar. When Kohli fell to Sakib Hussain in the 6th over of the innings, Head seemed to have more words for him.
Towards the end of the match, Kohli was seen fuming in the dugout, supposedly over this incident. After the match, Kohli shook hands with most of the Sunrisers team but specifically ignored Head.
In Indian cricket, it almost seems to have become a trend for fans of big players like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and MS Dhoni to spam the Instagram comments of any player who seems to cross the 'Big Three'.
The same happened with Travis Head, with many Kohli fans making the usual comments in favour of Virat Kohli, as they have with many others before. Some comments appeared to delve into abuse, while others were taking shots at the Kohli fans for this apparent spam.
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A post shared by Travis Head (@travishead34)
The incident has sparked many debates on social media over not just Kohli's own behaviour in ignoring the handshake, but also the behaviour of certain fan groups who would subject another cricketer to this treatment.
Also Read: Travis Head’s first reaction after Virat Kohli handshake controversy goes viral
RCB and SRH next match
Having secured the top spot on the points table, the Royal Challengers Bengaluru will take on the Gujarat Titans in the first Qualifier. The match will be held at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala on May 26.
The winner will get a direct entry to the final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on May 31. The loser will get another opportunity to qualify for the final in the second Qualifier. Qualifier 2 will be held at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur on 29 May.
The Sunrisers Hyderabad have finished third and will play in the Eliminator in Mullanpur on 27 May. SRH do not know their opponents for that clash yet. The winner of the Eliminator will face the loser of Qualifier 1 in Qualifier 2. The final will then be held between the winner of Qualifier 1 and Qualifier 2.
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