Virat Kohli led from the front as defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru began their IPL 2026 campaign with a commanding six-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday.
Chasing 202, Kohli set the tone early alongside local favourite Devdutt Padikkal, with the duo ensuring the required rate never got out of hand. RCB raced to 76/1 in the powerplay and completed the chase comfortably in just 15.4 overs.
Earlier, after being put in to bat, SRH stumbled to 29/3 inside the powerplay as IPL debutant Jacob Duffy struck thrice. A fighting partnership between stand-in skipper Ishan Kishan and Heinrich Klaasen, along with late-order contributions, helped the visitors recover to 201/9.
However, Bengaluru’s chase was clinical. Kohli and Padikkal dominated the SRH attack, exposing the gap left by the absence of injured captain Pat Cummins.
Kohli, who now features only in ODIs, made the most of a reprieve on 28 to remain unbeaten on 69 off 38 balls, striking five fours and five sixes as the home crowd erupted in support. Padikkal matched his intensity with a blistering 61 off just 26 balls, including seven fours and four sixes, while skipper Rajat Patidar chipped in with 31.
Earlier in the innings, Duffy dismantled SRH’s top order, removing Abhishek Sharma (7), Travis Head (11) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (1) to finish with figures of 3/22.
Kishan top-scored for Hyderabad with a fluent 80 off 38 balls, laced with eight fours and five sixes. Klaasen added 31, while Aniket Verma provided late impetus with a rapid 43 off 18 deliveries.
RCB will next host Chennai Super Kings on April 5, while SRH will look to bounce back against Kolkata Knight Riders on Thursday.
Chasing 202, Kohli set the tone early alongside local favourite Devdutt Padikkal, with the duo ensuring the required rate never got out of hand. RCB raced to 76/1 in the powerplay and completed the chase comfortably in just 15.4 overs.
Earlier, after being put in to bat, SRH stumbled to 29/3 inside the powerplay as IPL debutant Jacob Duffy struck thrice. A fighting partnership between stand-in skipper Ishan Kishan and Heinrich Klaasen, along with late-order contributions, helped the visitors recover to 201/9.
However, Bengaluru’s chase was clinical. Kohli and Padikkal dominated the SRH attack, exposing the gap left by the absence of injured captain Pat Cummins.
Kohli, who now features only in ODIs, made the most of a reprieve on 28 to remain unbeaten on 69 off 38 balls, striking five fours and five sixes as the home crowd erupted in support. Padikkal matched his intensity with a blistering 61 off just 26 balls, including seven fours and four sixes, while skipper Rajat Patidar chipped in with 31.
Earlier in the innings, Duffy dismantled SRH’s top order, removing Abhishek Sharma (7), Travis Head (11) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (1) to finish with figures of 3/22.
Kishan top-scored for Hyderabad with a fluent 80 off 38 balls, laced with eight fours and five sixes. Klaasen added 31, while Aniket Verma provided late impetus with a rapid 43 off 18 deliveries.
RCB will next host Chennai Super Kings on April 5, while SRH will look to bounce back against Kolkata Knight Riders on Thursday.
