RCB vs SRH – No Handshake! Virat Kohli Completely Ignores Travis Head After Game

The high-octane IPL 2026 clash between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Sunrisers Hyderabad didn’t just spill fireworks with the bat. It also kicked up a big online buzz after a kind of ice-cold post match moment between Virat Kohli and Travis Head. On paper, Hyderabad still took the cake with a heavy 55-run victory, but really everyone was stuck on the post match handshake queue where Kohli, well… kind of totally ignored the Australian opener.

The sledge that sparked, all this tension

So the trouble started during Bengaluru’s tough run at a huge 256-run target. You could feel things turning messy on the ground when Travis Head said something sharp at Virat Kohli. Kohli, never one to just swallow it, hit back right away, basically telling the Aussie to cool it , come down and bowl a few balls to him.

But cricket, you know, it has that brutal sense of timing. Kohli was dismissed shortly after that little challenge. Then Head, seizing the moment like a clean exit line, reportedly taunted him while he was leaving, saying Kohli was out before he even got a chance to come on and bowl. That quick comeback visibly rattled Kohli, and from there it didn’t take much for a dramatic post match standoff to form.

The Handshake

Once the final delivery was bowled, the cameras zoomed in on the usual post match player lineups. As the squads came together to shake hands, Travis Head reached out his hand toward Kohli.

Virat Kohli didn’t shake hands with Travis Head after the match ended. pic.twitter.com/74UEXm1aUV

— Cricketopia (@CricketopiaCom) May 22, 2026

But Kohli, with absolutely no look or even a small acknowledgment , just walked on by, leaving the dynamic left-hander sort of frozen in place. And to make it feel even more sharp and obvious, Kohli then smiled like nothing happened and shook hands with the entire Hyderabad side, even including their captain Pat Cummins .

The Match Results and Playoff Scenarios

Hyderabad took the bragging rights for the night , yet in the wider tournament story Bengaluru actually ends up looking like the one laughing last. Hyderabad posted a massive 255 for 4, powered by explosive half centuries from Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, and a heavy handed takedown by Heinrich Klaasen.

Bengaluru were never really fully on rails in the chase, though. Still, determined innings from Rajat Patidar and Krunal Pandya pushed them beyond a key 166 run threshold. By clearing that particular number, Bengaluru officially secured the top position on the IPL 2026 points table. They wrap the league stage in the top two, so they get two real chances to make it to the grand final.

Hyderabad won the evening, mostly through their aggressive style, but the whole fiery Kohli–Head awkwardness has now set a pretty chaotic tone for what’s coming next in the playoffs.