On this day in 2016: SRH beat RCB to lift their first IPL trophy

SRH defeated RCB by eight runs in the IPL 2016 final.

Nine years ago, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) caused a major upset by defeating Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2016 final. SRH crushed RCB by a close margin of just eight runs in the nail-biting encounter to grab the champions tag for the first time.

SRH became a member of the IPL in the 2013 season. They filled the vacant spot left by the Deccan Chargers team, who were disbanded from the league after playing five seasons from 2008 to 2012. After winning the title in 2016, Sunrisers also reached the finals in 2018 and 2024 but ended as runners-up.

Notably, SRH stunned the cricket fraternity in the IPL 2016 playoffs by winning three matches in a row to steal the trophy. It was the only instance in IPL history when the top two finishers in the points table could not clinch the trophy.

SRH’s journey in the league stage of IPL 2016

Australian legend David Warner was the captain of SRH in IPL 2016. Interestingly, Sunrisers started the season with a 45-run defeat in the opening match against RCB. They also lost their next clash against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).

However, David Warner & co. made a powerful comeback by winning the next three games in a row. They made a powerful impact in the first 10 games by winning seven of them. At the end of the league stage, the Warner-led side won eight games and lost six matches out of 14.

They captured the third spot in the points table with 16 points. They followed RCB in the points table, who finished in the second place with an equal number of points but a better Net Run Rate (NRR).

SRH’s dominance in the playoffs

In the playoffs, the Virat Kohli-led RCB won the Qualifier 1 match against Gujarat Lions by four wickets and stole a place in the final. On the other hand, Sunrisers clashed with KKR in the Eliminator and crushed them by 22 runs.

SRH piled up 162-8 in the first innings with a top knock of 44 runs by Yuvraj Singh. Moises Henriques also added crucial 31 runs. Though the score seemed a bit low, SRH restricted the Knight Riders to 140/8 in a thrilling low-scoring match. Bhuvneshwar Kumar picked a three-wicket haul while Henriques captured two wickets to drive SRH one step closer to the final.

In Qualifier 2, SRH outplayed Lions to seal a spot in the final. Lions, led by Suresh Raina, posted 162/7 in the 1st innings with a half-century by Aaron Finch (50). However, opener Warner hit a brilliant unbeaten 93 to guide Sunrisers to a four-wicket win.

The final victory against RCB

With an explosive batting unit of Virat Kohli, Chris Gayle, and AB de Villiers, RCB were favourites to win the title in IPL 2016. They had also become the most feared side in the lead-up to the final on the back of their dominant batting might.

In the nail-biting final, SRH piled up 208/7 in the first innings. All-rounder Ben Cutting slammed a quickfire unbeaten 39 runs off 15 balls in the death overs to power SRH to a mountainous total. Cutting also captured two wickets while bowling later. Opener Warner added 69 runs at the start with the bat.

RCB openers Gayle and Kohli etched a wonderful opening stand of 114 runs, hitting 76 runs and 54 runs respectively. However, they lost their middle order cheaply as de Villiers (5), KL Rahul (11), and Shane Watson (11) completely failed with the bat. In the end, the Virat Kohli & Boys could only reach 200/7, falling short of just eight runs for victory.

RCB also settled up with the runners-up tag for the third time, having lost the finals in the 2009 and 2011 editions on previous occasions. On the other hand, SRH scripted history by becoming the IPL champions for the first time. Cutting won the player of the match award for his outstanding all-round show in the final.

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