In the 2026 league stage, Sunrisers Hyderabad averaged 210 runs every time they batted first. Across 15 IPL playoff matches since the franchise's first season in 2013, their average score batting first is 157. Those two numbers sit at the heart of one of the strangest records in the league. On their day, Hyderabad are the most destructive batting side the IPL has seen, but in the knockouts they have won only five of fifteen matches.
The title they won, in 2016, came from third place through the Eliminator, a route no champion had taken before. Since then Hyderabad have reached two more finals and lost both: in 2018 to Shane Watson's 117* and in 2024 to a Mitchell Starc-led collapse that ended at 113, the lowest total in an IPL final. Most recently, the 27 May 2026 Eliminator: a team that had just made 255/4 against the eventual champions was bowled out for 196 chasing 244 against Rajasthan Royals. This piece goes through all fifteen knockouts in order and asks what the pattern is.
The Sunrisers' Knockout Story, 2013–2026
2013–2017: Bowling First, Batting Thin
The Sunrisers took over the Hyderabad franchise in 2013, after Deccan Chargers were dissolved. (Deccan's 2009 title belongs to a different franchise, and CricMind does not count it in Hyderabad's record.) The first Sunrisers side was built on bowling. They finished fourth in 2013 and met Rajasthan Royals in the Eliminator at Feroz Shah Kotla on 22 May 2013. Hyderabad batted first and made 132/7, and Brad Hodge's unbeaten innings took Rajasthan home with three balls left.
That match set a template. In the 2013 season Hyderabad averaged 145 batting first and conceded an average of 138. They were built to win low-scoring games, and in a knockout someone has to carry the batting. In 2013 nobody did.
The 2017 Eliminator, on 17 May 2017 at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, followed the same lines. Hyderabad scored 128/7. Rain cut Kolkata Knight Riders' chase to six overs, KKR won by seven wickets, and Nathan Coulter-Nile was player of the match. That 2017 side had averaged 180 batting first in the league. In the knockout they made 128.
2016: The Season It Worked
The 2016 title stands out because it is the only time Hyderabad's batting carried on into May. David Warner scored 848 runs that season and won the Orange Cap. Bhuvneshwar Kumar took the Purple Cap with 23 wickets. Hyderabad finished third and had to win three knockout matches in five days.
- Eliminator, 25 May 2016, Delhi: SRH 162/8 beat KKR 140/8 by 22 runs. Moises Henriques was player of the match.
- Qualifier 2, 27 May 2016, Delhi: chasing 163 against Gujarat Lions, Hyderabad lost wickets steadily while Warner made an unbeaten 93. They won by four wickets with three balls left.
- Final, 29 May 2016, Bengaluru: SRH 208/7 beat Royal Challengers Bangalore on 200/7 by eight runs. Ben Cutting made 39* off 15 and was player of the match.
The final at the Chinnaswamy was the only time Hyderabad have passed 200 in an IPL knockout. It was also one of the few times a lower-order cameo swung a Hyderabad knockout, and most of their later knockout defeats had nothing like it.
2018 and 2020: Williamson's Near Misses
In 2018, with Warner banned, Kane Williamson captained the side, won the Orange Cap with 735 runs and led Hyderabad to the top of the league table. Even so, they batted first in all three of their knockouts.
- Qualifier 1, 22 May 2018, Mumbai: SRH made 139/7. Faf du Plessis's unbeaten innings took Chennai Super Kings home by two wickets with four balls left.
- Qualifier 2, 25 May 2018, Kolkata: SRH 174/7 beat KKR 160/9 by 14 runs. Rashid Khan hit 34* off 10 balls, took three wickets and was player of the match, in what may be the best all-round knockout performance by a Hyderabad player.
- Final, 27 May 2018, Mumbai: SRH made 178/6. Watson's 117* chased it down with seven balls left.
In 2020, in the UAE, Hyderabad went the other way and chased. They beat RCB in the Eliminator in Abu Dhabi on 6 November 2020: needing 132, they won by six wickets with Williamson unbeaten on 50. Two days later Marcus Stoinis drove Delhi Capitals to 189/3 in Qualifier 2, Hyderabad finished on 172/8 and lost by 17 runs.
2024 and 2026: The Run Machine Meets May
The 2024 team changed what people thought a T20 total could be. Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma opened, Heinrich Klaasen came in behind them, and Pat Cummins was captain. Batting first in the league, Hyderabad made 287/3 against RCB in Bengaluru, 277/3 against Mumbai Indians in Hyderabad and 266/7 in Delhi. Their batting-first average for the season was 200.
Their three 2024 knockout totals were 159, 175 and 113. Starc took 3/34 in Qualifier 1 in Ahmedabad on 21 May 2024, and KKR chased 160 in 13.4 overs. Hyderabad recovered in Qualifier 2 at Chepauk on 24 May, where 175/9 and three wickets from Shahbaz Ahmed beat Rajasthan by 36 runs. Two days later, on the same ground, they were bowled out for 113 in 18.5 overs and KKR won the final with 9.1 overs left.
The 2026 season repeated the pattern. Hyderabad scored 242/2 against Delhi, 249/4 chasing against Mumbai, 235/4 against Punjab Kings and 255/4 against RCB on 22 May. They finished third with 18 points. Five days later, in the Eliminator, Rajasthan made 243/8 batting first and Hyderabad were all out for 196, losing by 47 runs.
The Data: Fifteen Knockouts, One Pattern
Every Sunrisers Hyderabad playoff match
| Season | Stage | Opponent | SRH score | Opp. score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Eliminator | RR | 132/7 | 135/6 | Lost by 4 wkts |
| 2016 | Eliminator | KKR | 162/8 | 140/8 | Won by 22 runs |
| 2016 | Qualifier 2 | Gujarat Lions | 163/6 | 162/7 | Won by 4 wkts |
| 2016 | Final | RCB | 208/7 | 200/7 | Won by 8 runs |
| 2017 | Eliminator | KKR | 128/7 | 48/3 (DLS) | Lost by 7 wkts |
| 2018 | Qualifier 1 | CSK | 139/7 | 140/8 | Lost by 2 wkts |
| 2018 | Qualifier 2 | KKR | 174/7 | 160/9 | Won by 14 runs |
| 2018 | Final | CSK | 178/6 | 181/2 | Lost by 8 wkts |
| 2019 | Eliminator | DC | 162/8 | 165/8 | Lost by 2 wkts |
| 2020 | Eliminator | RCB | 132/4 | 131/7 | Won by 6 wkts |
| 2020 | Qualifier 2 | DC | 172/8 | 189/3 | Lost by 17 runs |
| 2024 | Qualifier 1 | KKR | 159/10 | 164/2 | Lost by 8 wkts |
| 2024 | Qualifier 2 | RR | 175/9 | 139/7 | Won by 36 runs |
| 2024 | Final | KKR | 113/10 | 114/2 | Lost by 8 wkts |
| 2026 | Eliminator | RR | 196/10 | 243/8 | Lost by 47 runs |
Sources: Cricsheet ball-by-ball archive (2013–2025) and CricMind's IPL 2026 match records.
Broken down by stage, Hyderabad are 2–4 in Eliminators, 0–2 in Qualifier 1, 3–1 in Qualifier 2 and 1–2 in finals. They have done well in the "second chance" game and lost almost every other kind of knockout. They batted first in eleven of the fifteen and won four of those eleven. Their average batting-first total in those eleven was 157.3.
League average vs knockout reality
| Season | Avg score batting first (league + playoffs) | Avg runs conceded | Finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 145 | 138 | 4th — lost Eliminator |
| 2016 | 160 | 152 | Champions |
| 2017 | 180 | 155 | 3rd — lost Eliminator |
| 2018 | 154 | 157 | Runners-up |
| 2019 | 181 | 158 | 4th — lost Eliminator |
| 2020 | 174 | 153 | 3rd — lost Qualifier 2 |
| 2024 | 200 | 189 | Runners-up |
| 2026 | 210 | 196 | 3rd — lost Eliminator |
The second table shows the trade Hyderabad have made. Between 2016 and 2026 their batting-first average rose by 50 runs. Their average runs conceded rose by 44. They now play an all-or-nothing game in which both sides score heavily, and a knockout gives them one attempt at it. In the 2026 Eliminator, Rajasthan made 243, close to Hyderabad's own league-stage standard, and the batting that produced 255 four days earlier had to chase from the first over.
Legacy Impact: What It Means After IPL 2026
The franchise usually describes itself as a high-variance team: the highest ceiling in the league, accepted along with a low floor. The knockout record suggests something more specific. Hyderabad's best knockout wins came when they defended modest totals with an attack that could hold its nerve: 162 in 2016, 174 in 2018 and 175 in 2024. Their worst defeats came when the top order was taken apart early, as Starc did twice in May 2024.
That bears on how the 2026 squad is built. Under head coach Daniel Vettori and captain Pat Cummins, Hyderabad kept their batting core of Head, Abhishek, Klaasen and Ishan Kishan, and added Liam Livingstone. The bowling has changed hands. Bhuvneshwar, who was in the 2016 title side, has moved to RCB after a decade in Hyderabad. The bowling that won the 2016 trophy is mostly gone, and the 2026 Eliminator showed what that leaves when opponents go after it.
The CricMind Oracle saw it coming. Before the 27 May Eliminator, the Oracle's locked pre-match call gave Rajasthan a 53% chance, a narrow edge against the hosts' form, built partly on Hyderabad's bowling numbers rather than their batting highlights. The call was correct. The Oracle has no feature for "playoff nerves", but it does measure how many runs a side gives away, and in Hyderabad's case that has decided more knockouts than how many they score. The full call is on the Eliminator preview, and the franchise's longer arc is covered in our bowling fortress to 250-run machine deep-dive.
None of this means Hyderabad cannot win another title. The 2016 run shows they can. It does show that their record-breaking league totals have not carried into knockouts. Five wins in fifteen playoff matches is the record, and the 287/3 and 255/4 innings do not change it.
Three Takeaways
- The league-to-knockout gap is real and large. Hyderabad averaged 200 and 210 batting first in the 2024 and 2026 leagues, against 157 across all eleven of their batting-first playoff innings. The 2016 final, at 208/7, is the only time they have passed 200 in a knockout.
- Qualifier 2 is their best stage, Qualifier 1 their worst. They are 3–1 in Qualifier 2 (2016, 2018, 2024) and 0–2 in Qualifier 1 (2018, 2024). They have done better as the side fighting from behind than as the side expected to win.
- The bowling, not the batting, decides it. In four of Hyderabad's five knockout wins, the opponents finished on 163 or fewer. When opponents passed 180, Hyderabad won once in four (the 2016 final) and lost the 2018 final, 2020 Qualifier 2 and 2026 Eliminator.
FAQ
How many IPL titles have Sunrisers Hyderabad won?
One. Sunrisers Hyderabad won IPL 2016, beating Royal Challengers Bangalore by eight runs in the final at Bengaluru on 29 May 2016. The 2009 title won by Hyderabad-based Deccan Chargers belongs to a separate, defunct franchise.
What is Sunrisers Hyderabad's playoff record?
Across 15 playoff matches from 2013 to 2026, SRH have won 5 and lost 10. They are 2–4 in Eliminators, 0–2 in Qualifier 1, 3–1 in Qualifier 2 and 1–2 in finals.
How many IPL finals have SRH played?
Three: 2016 (won against RCB), 2018 (lost to CSK by eight wickets after Shane Watson's 117*) and 2024 (lost to KKR by eight wickets after being bowled out for 113).
What is the lowest total in an IPL final?
Sunrisers Hyderabad's 113 all out against Kolkata Knight Riders at Chepauk on 26 May 2024 is the lowest total in an IPL final.
How did SRH do in IPL 2026?
SRH finished third in the league with 18 points, including 255/4 against RCB and 242/2 against Delhi Capitals. They lost the Eliminator to Rajasthan Royals by 47 runs on 27 May 2026, bowled out for 196 chasing 244.
What is SRH's highest IPL total?
287/3 against Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in 2024, followed by 286/6 against Rajasthan Royals in Hyderabad in 2025.
Who has won player of the match for SRH in IPL playoffs?
Moises Henriques (2016 Eliminator), David Warner (2016 Qualifier 2), Ben Cutting (2016 final), Rashid Khan (2018 Qualifier 2), Kane Williamson (2020 Eliminator) and Shahbaz Ahmed (2024 Qualifier 2).