Revisiting the Last IPL Opening Clash Between RCB and SRH

Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Sunrisers Hyderabad will be starting the IPL 2026 season. The defending champions are all set to go against the runner-up of the 2024 edition. It will be an intense clash, with both sides having immense firepower. However, this is not the first time both teams have faced each other in an IPL opener.

The IPL 2026 is all set to begin from 28 March, as the Royal Challengers Bengaluru will be going against the Sunrisers Hyderabad. This will be a clash of the ages, as both teams bring their aggressive batting line-up. SRH will be coming with Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, and Ishan Kishan, while RCB will be coming with Phil Salt, Virat Kohli, Jacob Bethell, and more.

But this is not the first time that both teams have faced each other in an IPL opener. They have faced each other in an opening match back in IPL 2017. The only difference was that Sunrisers Hyderabad entered that edition as the defending champions. And this time, it will be RCB entering as the defending champions.

In their 2017 clash, Sunrisers Hyderabad batted first and scored 207 runs for the loss of 4 wickets. RCB was bundled all out for just 172, allowing SRH to start off with a win. Moreover, the 2017 season saw RCB finishing at the bottom of the table, and Sunrisers Hyderabad went on to play the Knockouts.

Our Take

After 9 years, both teams will face each other in an IPL opener yet again. The rivalry between them may not be huge, but it goes back to the IPL 2016 final. Now both teams have one title each in their hands, as they aim to get a strong start in the IPL 2026 edition. Still, the opening clash between RCB and SRH has excited the MI fans a bit.

The last time this happened, the Mumbai Indians finished as the champions of the tournament. And it has been more than 5 seasons since the team last touched the title or even played the final match. With their last trophy in the IPL 2020 edition, the Mumbai Indians will hope to connect the dots and repeat what happened in 2017.