Bangalore, March 28 – The defending champions, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), began their 2026 IPL campaign with a dominant six-wicket victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad on Saturday at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.
Batting first on a challenging pitch, SRH, with captain Ishan Kishan scoring a brilliant 80 off 38 balls and Aniket Verma contributing 43 off 18 balls, managed to reach 201/9. Kishan's aggressive batting, including eight fours and five sixes, and Verma's powerful hitting helped the visitors surpass the 200-mark despite Jacob Duffy's impressive debut spell of 3-22 and Romario Shepherd's 3-54.
In reply, RCB's top order quickly took control. Devdutt Padikkal scored a rapid 61 off 26 balls, with seven fours and four sixes, while Virat Kohli, returning to T20 cricket after ten months, impressed the home crowd with an unbeaten 69 off 38 balls, including five fours and five sixes.
Rajat Patidar contributed a brisk 31 off 12 balls to ensure a comfortable victory. RCB's innings was characterized by aggressive intent from the outset. Padikkal reached a half-century in 21 balls, his fastest in the IPL, before being dismissed by Harsh Dubey.
Kohli then took over, executing trademark shots – a lofted drive over the bowler's head, a pull shot over square leg, and a powerful drive through cover – to demonstrate his class and achieve his 64th IPL fifty, as SRH's bowlers struggled to contain the flow of runs.
Veteran left-arm seamer Jaydev Unadkat made an immediate impact, dismissing Phil Salt with a length ball that stopped on the bat and went to mid-off, narrowly avoiding a collision with his teammate.
In the same over, Padikkal got off to a good start, hitting a six over deep square leg, while Kohli's first boundary came off a slice over mid-off. However, Padikkal continued his strong performance, reaching 28 off 10 balls. He then hit a six over cover-point and a four, as RCB reached 51 runs in just four overs.
Kohli soon joined the attack, countering Unadkat's cutters and hitting flat-batted drives through cover, after having hit a six. With Padikkal adding two more boundaries, RCB dominated the powerplay, reaching 73 runs for the loss of one wicket.
Kohli then showcased his ability against Eshan Malinga, lofting a length ball straight over the bowler's head to bring the Chinnaswamy crowd to life. He was given a reprieve on 28 when Heinrich Klaasen missed a chance at long-on.
Padikkal continued his excellent form, reaching a half-century in 21 balls – his fastest in the IPL – before being caught by Dubey. Kohli, meanwhile, showcased his wrist work with a whip over square leg off Harshal Patel and a powerful drive through cover. He completed the chase with an upper-cut through third man, securing a convincing victory.
Earlier, SRH had a shaky start. Abhishek Sharma was dismissed in the first over by Duffy, who caught a top-edge pull shot.
Duffy then dismissed Travis Head with a similar pull shot, and Nitish Kumar Reddy followed suit in the same over, giving RCB an early advantage. Kishan then took control, combining watchful defense with calculated aggression. He rebuilt the innings with strong strokeplay, finding gaps and punishing loose deliveries from Abhinandan Singh and Suyash Sharma.
Kishan's half-century came off just 32 balls, as he effortlessly cleared the boundary ropes with eight fours and five sixes. However, RCB's bowlers continued to put pressure, and Klaasen was caught by Phil Salt close to the boundary rope, though many felt he had touched the rope.
After Suyash took out Salil Arora, Kishan's brilliant 80 was a turning point, as Salt made a diving catch to dismiss Abhinandan.
With Harsh Dubey and Harshal Patel falling cheaply, Aniket Verma then launched a powerful counterattack, scoring three fours and four sixes, much to Shepherd's dismay. Though Shepherd dismissed Aniket in the 19th over, SRH managed to reach 200 and set RCB a challenging target.
Final Scores: Sunrisers Hyderabad 201/9 in 20 overs (Ishan Kishan 80, Aniket Verma 43; Jacob Duffy 3-22, Romario Shepherd 3-54) lost to Royal Challengers Bangalore 203/4 in 15.4 overs (Virat Kohli 69 not out, Devdutt Padikkal 61; David Payne 2-35, Jaydev Unadkat 1-29) by six wickets
Batting first on a challenging pitch, SRH, with captain Ishan Kishan scoring a brilliant 80 off 38 balls and Aniket Verma contributing 43 off 18 balls, managed to reach 201/9. Kishan's aggressive batting, including eight fours and five sixes, and Verma's powerful hitting helped the visitors surpass the 200-mark despite Jacob Duffy's impressive debut spell of 3-22 and Romario Shepherd's 3-54.
In reply, RCB's top order quickly took control. Devdutt Padikkal scored a rapid 61 off 26 balls, with seven fours and four sixes, while Virat Kohli, returning to T20 cricket after ten months, impressed the home crowd with an unbeaten 69 off 38 balls, including five fours and five sixes.
Rajat Patidar contributed a brisk 31 off 12 balls to ensure a comfortable victory. RCB's innings was characterized by aggressive intent from the outset. Padikkal reached a half-century in 21 balls, his fastest in the IPL, before being dismissed by Harsh Dubey.
Kohli then took over, executing trademark shots – a lofted drive over the bowler's head, a pull shot over square leg, and a powerful drive through cover – to demonstrate his class and achieve his 64th IPL fifty, as SRH's bowlers struggled to contain the flow of runs.
Veteran left-arm seamer Jaydev Unadkat made an immediate impact, dismissing Phil Salt with a length ball that stopped on the bat and went to mid-off, narrowly avoiding a collision with his teammate.
In the same over, Padikkal got off to a good start, hitting a six over deep square leg, while Kohli's first boundary came off a slice over mid-off. However, Padikkal continued his strong performance, reaching 28 off 10 balls. He then hit a six over cover-point and a four, as RCB reached 51 runs in just four overs.
Kohli soon joined the attack, countering Unadkat's cutters and hitting flat-batted drives through cover, after having hit a six. With Padikkal adding two more boundaries, RCB dominated the powerplay, reaching 73 runs for the loss of one wicket.
Kohli then showcased his ability against Eshan Malinga, lofting a length ball straight over the bowler's head to bring the Chinnaswamy crowd to life. He was given a reprieve on 28 when Heinrich Klaasen missed a chance at long-on.
Padikkal continued his excellent form, reaching a half-century in 21 balls – his fastest in the IPL – before being caught by Dubey. Kohli, meanwhile, showcased his wrist work with a whip over square leg off Harshal Patel and a powerful drive through cover. He completed the chase with an upper-cut through third man, securing a convincing victory.
Earlier, SRH had a shaky start. Abhishek Sharma was dismissed in the first over by Duffy, who caught a top-edge pull shot.
Duffy then dismissed Travis Head with a similar pull shot, and Nitish Kumar Reddy followed suit in the same over, giving RCB an early advantage. Kishan then took control, combining watchful defense with calculated aggression. He rebuilt the innings with strong strokeplay, finding gaps and punishing loose deliveries from Abhinandan Singh and Suyash Sharma.
Kishan's half-century came off just 32 balls, as he effortlessly cleared the boundary ropes with eight fours and five sixes. However, RCB's bowlers continued to put pressure, and Klaasen was caught by Phil Salt close to the boundary rope, though many felt he had touched the rope.
After Suyash took out Salil Arora, Kishan's brilliant 80 was a turning point, as Salt made a diving catch to dismiss Abhinandan.
With Harsh Dubey and Harshal Patel falling cheaply, Aniket Verma then launched a powerful counterattack, scoring three fours and four sixes, much to Shepherd's dismay. Though Shepherd dismissed Aniket in the 19th over, SRH managed to reach 200 and set RCB a challenging target.
Final Scores: Sunrisers Hyderabad 201/9 in 20 overs (Ishan Kishan 80, Aniket Verma 43; Jacob Duffy 3-22, Romario Shepherd 3-54) lost to Royal Challengers Bangalore 203/4 in 15.4 overs (Virat Kohli 69 not out, Devdutt Padikkal 61; David Payne 2-35, Jaydev Unadkat 1-29) by six wickets
