The IPL 2026 league stage match between Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) has made the headlines for the wrong reasons, after Virat Kohli and Travis Head were involved in a heated exchange.
During the powerplay of RCB's daunting chase, Kohli was struggling to find his rhythm with the bat at the crease.
Travis Head, who was fielding in the deep, began teasing Kohli verbally, even asking why Virat Kohli was playing so defensively in a humongous run chase. In return, Kohli gave Head an "impact player" gesture, referring to the fact that Head gets often replaced for a specialist bowler after he is done batting. The Australian primarily plays as a batter.
After the match, which SRH won by 55 runs, Kohli refused to shake hands with Head. Following the incident, several fans on social media targeted Travis Head's wife Jessica and her family. Jessica received similar online abuse after Australia beat India to clinch the ODI World Cup title in 2023.
Travis Head's wife reacts
Travis Head had scored an unbeaten century in the final. “It feels like a repeat of the abuse that happened after the World Cup. I woke up to my socials blasting... we are fine but they are attacking my friends and family,” Jessica told The Advertiser, an Australian media outlet.
“I think across all sports at the moment there’s an important conversation around mental health, perspective and the way we speak to one another. Passion will always be part of sport, but so is remembering there are real people and families behind the game. Hopefully, this encourages more kindness, and support for one another,” she added.
Kohli was eventually dismissed for 15 runs from 11 balls by Sakib Hussain. Sunrisers Hyderabad, who posted 255/4 after batting first, won the match by 55 runs after RCB were restricted to 200/4.
Despite the loss, RCB finished the league stage in first place with 18 points (Net Run Rate of +0.783), whereas Gujarat Titans finished second with the same number of points with a NRR of +0.695.
Sunrisers Hyderabad too finished with 18 points, but finished third with an NRR of +0.524. Rajasthan Royals secured the fourth and final playoff spot with a win over Mumbai Indians on Sunday, and they finished in fourth place with 16 points and an NRR of +0.189.
RCB will lock horns with GT in Qualifier 1 in Dharamsala on Tuesday, whereas Mullanpur will host the Eliminator between SRH and RR on Wednesday.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru are the defending champions of the IPL, having beaten Punjab Kings by six runs in the IPL 2025 in Ahmedabad last June. Should they successfully defend their title this season, they will become the first team since Chennai Super Kings (CSK) to do so.
