IPL 2016 Final — Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Royal Challengers Bangalore
Sunrisers Hyderabad won the IPL 2016 Final against Royal Challengers Bangalore by 8 runs at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru on May 29, 2016. In the most heartbreaking conclusion to an individual season in IPL history, Virat Kohli's record 973-run campaign ended without a title as SRH defended 208 against RCB's determined chase of 201/7.
IPL 2016 Final Scorecard
Sunrisers Hyderabad — 208/7 (20 overs)
| Batter | Runs | Balls |
|---|---|---|
| David Warner | 69 | 39 |
| Ben Cutting | 39 | 18 |
| Yuvraj Singh | 38 | 24 |
| Shikhar Dhawan | 28 | 26 |
Bowling: Chris Jordan 3/47, S Aravind 2/30, Shane Watson 1/61
Royal Challengers Bangalore — 200/7 (20 overs)
| Batter | Runs | Balls |
|---|---|---|
| Chris Gayle | 76 | 41 |
| Virat Kohli | 54 | 36 |
| Sachin Baby | 18 | 10 |
| KL Rahul | 11 | 9 |
Bowling: Ben Cutting 2/35, Mustafizur Rahman 2/38, Bhuvneshwar Kumar 1/29
The Season That Should Have Won — Kohli's 973 Runs
IPL 2016 was Virat Kohli's season of seasons. 973 runs in 16 matches — four centuries, seven fifties, an average of 81.08 — remains the greatest individual batting season in IPL history. To not win the title after such a performance was one of cricket's most poignant what-ifs. Kohli scored 54 in the final — his 12th score of 50+ in the tournament — but it wasn't quite enough.
Gayle's Explosive Start
Chris Gayle's 76 off 41 gave RCB every chance. His opening assault against SRH's bowling set up what looked like a winning platform, but once Gayle fell, the required rate climbed steeply and SRH's disciplined bowling — particularly Mustafizur Rahman and Bhuvneshwar Kumar — kept RCB at bay in the death overs.
Warner and Cutting — SRH's Match-Winners
David Warner's 69 off 39 set the foundation before Ben Cutting's extraordinary cameo of 39 off 18 took SRH to 208. Cutting hit 4 sixes in that innings — a devastating display of lower-order hitting that proved to be the difference between the two sides.
SRH's First and Only Title
IPL 2016 remains Sunrisers Hyderabad's only IPL championship. David Warner's captaincy, Bhuvneshwar Kumar's seam bowling and a well-balanced squad combined to produce their finest season. The title was celebrated enormously in Hyderabad — but the cricketing world remembers the final primarily as the night Kohli's greatest season ended without the ultimate prize.
View Virat Kohli's legendary IPL 2016 season stats on FourthInning →
