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"Better Now Than In The Playoffs": Phil Salt's Interesting Take On RCB’s Loss To SRH

Sakshi Sharma

Phil Salt after RCB's loss to SRH (Source:@KnightsVibe,x.com)Phil Salt after RCB's loss to SRH (Source:@KnightsVibe,x.com)

Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) push for a top-two finish in the IPL 2025 league stage took a setback after a 42-run defeat to Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in Match 66 at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Stadium. Despite the loss, RCB's explosive opener and wicketkeeper-batter Phil Salt remained composed, urging fans to look at the bigger picture as the side heads into the Playoffs.

RCB, having already qualified for the knockout stages, were eyeing a crucial win to strengthen their hold on a top-two spot. Chasing the target, the team got off to a dream start with Salt and Virat Kohli hammering 80 runs in the first seven overs. But the momentum shifted dramatically after Kohli's wicket. Salt continued the charge with a powerful 62 off 32 balls, but the lack of meaningful partnerships from the middle and lower order led to RCB's defeat. 

Phil Salt Stays Positive After Loss To SRH

In the post-match interaction, Salt expressed his disappointment over the result but was quick to put things in perspective.

"I mean that's one way of looking at it. The other way of looking at it is, you don't mind having this game not in the playoffs. You can take it as a disappointment or you can take it for what it is. We've qualified but we've lost the game. No one likes to lose games of cricket. I'm hating the fact that we lost, as will everybody else in an RCB shirt, but we'd rather have this now than in an Eliminator," said Salt after the loss against SRH as quoted by Cricbuzz.

He emphasised the positives from the match and highlighted the fine margins that define high-pressure T20 games.

We did a lot of good things (while) chasing it down. Obviously, we got it to a point at 15 overs where every single person in our dressing room would believe that we're going to win that game. Obviously, the margins are most of the time fine, but the margins for failure were very fine tonight. You hit an over of 20 at that time and you go a long way in icing the game. Cricket can be like that sometimes. We'll have a look at what we did well and what we can do better," the Englishman added.

Phil Salt also stressed the importance of staying focused and playing freely in the knockout rounds.

“We’ve qualified for the playoffs, and once you’re in, you’ve got to go and play in a carefree manner and do what you can to win the trophy,” he said. “In a few days, we'll be playing here again against Lucknow. We want to win that and show everyone how good we are.”

RCB vs SRH: What Happened In The Match?

SRH rode on a spectacular unbeaten 94 from Ishan Kishan to post a daunting total of 232/4. Kishan’s counter-attacking knock, backed by a 79-run blitz from Aiden Markram, stunned the RCB bowlers. In reply, despite strong starts from Salt, Kohli, and 24-run cameo from Jitesh Sharma, RCB's middle-order collapse proved costly.

The loss has left them in third place on the points table with 17 points. GT lead the table with 18 points, while PBKS sit second with an identical 17 points but a superior net run rate (NRR) of 0.134 over RCB.