Bangalore, March 28 Devdutt Padikkal's 26-ball-61, combined with Virat Kohli's masterful unbeaten half-century, propelled Royal Challengers Bangalore to a dominant six-wicket victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL 2026 season-opening match on Saturday.
Padikkal and Kohli (69 not out, 38 balls) put on 101 runs for the second wicket, providing a strong foundation for RCB's successful chase of 202 in just 15.4 overs. The hosts finished at 203/4, starting their title defense in spectacular fashion.
After Phil Salt was dismissed early, Kohli and Padikkal particularly entertained the Chinnaswamy crowd with their batting.
Their batting styles were vastly different. Padikkal was characterized by quick wrists, agile footwork, and powerful cuts, while Kohli favored his trademark drives, shots on the 'V', and the signature flick.
Padikkal displayed his left-handed prowess, smashing 6, 4, and 6 off pacer David Payne, and later hitting Harsh Dubey for 4 and 6 in successive deliveries.
Padikkal reached his fifty in just 21 balls, with a four off Harshal Patel.
Kohli unleashed his signature shot, a minimum-movement, arm-throw, against pacers Jaydev Unadkat and Eshan Malinga, as runs flowed freely – Team 50 came in the fourth over, Power Play produced 76 and 100 in just 8.1 overs.
However, the free-flowing partnership ended when Padikkal was caught by Heinrich Klaasen, who had earlier dropped Kohli on 28 off RCB's Harshal, at long-on.
Kohli soon reached his half-century in 33 balls, with a single off left-arm seamer Payne.
Skipper Rajat Patidar also contributed with a brisk 31 off 12 balls.
The consecutive dismissals of Patidar and Jitesh Sharma were minor setbacks in an otherwise smooth chase, punctuated by Kohli's sequence of 6, 4, 4, 4 off Harshal.
Earlier, stand-in-captain Ishan Kishan smashed a blazing fifty as Sunrisers managed to contain Jacob Duffy's excellent spell but only managed a slightly below-par 201 for nine.
Kishan (80, 38 balls, 8x4, 5x6) and his 97-run stand with Heinrich Klaasen (31) for the fourth wicket were the core of SRH's innings.
However, the match had a different start when Patidar asked Hyderabad to bat first on a pitch that had been unused for nearly 10 months.
The pitch would have been a relatively unknown quantity, making chasing a more viable option.
Duffy's spell (4-0-22-3) vindicated this thought.
The Kiwi pacer used his height effectively to generate bounce off the track, and Abhishek Sharma (7) looked frustrated unable to free his arm despite hitting Duffy for a six over backward point.
The left-hander, who is typically uncomfortable against short balls, eventually fell victim to his frustration, as his awkward pull off Duffy ended in Jitesh Sharma's gloves.
Earlier, RCB had used a DRS review for a caught behind appeal against Abhishek off Duffy in the first over.
Travis Head and Nitish Kumar Reddy also struggled to control their pull shots off Duffy as SRH slipped to 29 for three in 4.2 overs.
However, Kishan remained unfazed, batting with great confidence.
The left-hander reached his fifty in 27 balls with a four off leg-spinner Suyash Sharma, and his innings was filled with stylish shots.
Abhinandan Singh bore the brunt of his aggression, as Kishan smashed him for 6, 4, 6, and later spinner Krunal Pandya was hit for two sixes in an over.
A powerful shot over third man off Abhinandan took Kishan to 80, and his century was within reach.
However, the pacer had the last laugh, as Kishan was caught by Phil Salt with a stunning one-handed diving catch near deep backward point.
This could certainly be one of the best catches of the season.
Kishan's dismissal slowed down SRH in the death overs, despite Aniket Verma (43, 19 balls), who was dropped by Kohli on 26 off Bhuvneshwar Kumar, striking a useful knock down the order.
