The battle between Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the win or lose IPL 2026 match was a power packed affair, but it was a post match snub that grabbed the headlines. Virat Kohli’s lack of a proper handshake from fellow player Travis Head was spotted by cameras, sparking a frenzy on social media. The situation had been uneasy for a long time before the final ball. The post match scene set against a backdrop of a fiery SRH vs RCB mid match feud. Key Highlights The Spark: Travis Head taunted Virat Kohli in the outfield over his strike rate. The Retaliation: Kohli made a physical gesture to Head’s “Impact Player” tag. The Parting Shot: Immediately after Kohli had been easily led out, Head mocked him. The Snub: Kohli walked past Head during post-match handshakes, refusing to acknowledge the extended hand. Mid-Match Assessment Virat was clearly in the mood while he was chasing 256 runs in the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. The spark that lit the flame started when Travis came up with a big shot from the deep, putting Kohli on trial to pick up the pace. Kohli got back at it immediately. Head’s “impact player” substitution hand signal was clearly ridiculed, as Head was a clear favourite. Kohli questioned Head by calling for him to get down on the boundary and just deliver some balls. A shot at Head’s common habit of being subbed out to the specialist bowler when he comes out of the backline. The Parting Shot That Stung Kohli could not back up the banter on the night. He was dismissed by Rasikh for an 11 ball 15. Head fired a shot off to Kohli as he was walking back to the dugout. Before Head got on to bowl, he reportedly grumbled, “Mate, you got out before I even got on to bowl.” In what would be a film plot twist, Head did bowl later in the match. The part-time off-spinner even picked up the vital wicket of RCB skipper Rajat, who was just on 56. RCB, however, retained the points table lead with a better net run rate, while SRH took a resounding 55 run victory. The Cold Post Match Handshake Snub The actual argument began in the usual post match “line” setting up for the next fixture. While Kohli warmly greeted SRH captain Pat and opener Abhishek, he completely blindsided Head. Travis could be seen clearly in the viral clips extending his hand towards the former Indian skipper. Kohli was unaffected by the gesture and simply walked past him. The cold exchange of the duel made it clear that on field emotions had turned into real hostility. Irfan Pathan, the commentator, pointed out that although there is always a lot of banter involved in matches, the SRH vs RCB post-match handshake was a point away from good sportsmanship. Head further fuelled the flames on social media, posting a photo of himself bowling with a cheeky caption: “Keep the body guessing.” Get all the updates on Kheloexch as part of routine IPL fun and information! FAQs Why was Virat Kohli not willing to shake hands with Travis Head? Due to a heated on field argument, Kohli ignored Head. Head taunted Kohli’s batting, and Kohli shot back with a mockery of Head’s position. The situation came to a peak with sarcasm at Kohli’s fast dismissal by Head. Who won RCB vs SRH IPL 2026 match? Team SRH defeated rivals by a margin of 55 runs. SRH recorded a huge grand total of 255/4. RCB didn’t go ahead and chase it but remained the top on NRR in the table. Was Travis Head in the SRH vs RCB match? Yes, Head was a remarkable off-spinner later in the innings. He even picked up the crucial wicket of Rajat. This was a direct rebuttal to his trash-talking abilities about Kohli earlier. What was the comment of Irfan Pathan regarding Kohli vs Head incident? Pathan confronted Kohli’s post-match attitude. He said it’s unprofessional sportsmanship to not shake any hands, even if sledging was done beforehand.