IPL 2026: Kohli, Padikkal fifties help RCB begin title defence with six-wicket win over SRH
Bengaluru, March 28 (IANS/WISHAVWARTA) Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) launched their title defence in style with a commanding six-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the IPL 2026 opening game at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday.
Chasing 202, RCB made light work of the target, galloping home in just 15.4 overs, thanks to fluent half-centuries from Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal. Kohli, playing a T20 game after ten months, remained unbeaten on 69 off 38 balls, laced with five fours and as many sixes to smash his 64th IPL fifty and leave the Chinnaswamy crowd enthralled.
Padikkal, meanwhile, was elegant in his timing and wristy stroke-play to hit a rollicking 61 off 26 balls, studded with seven fours and four sixes, and set the tone for the chase to be wrapped up with 26 balls to spare.
At the halfway stage, SRH’s 201/9 looked competitive, but the manner in which Kohli and Padikkal, along with captain Rajat Patidar’s 12-ball 31 dismantled a toothless bowling attack suggested even 250 would not have sufficed on the night.
Veteran left-arm seamer Jaydev Unadkat struck in his very first over to give Sunrisers Hyderabad an early breakthrough, as he dismissed Phil Salt with a length ball that stopped on the batter and popped up to mid-of, who dodged a collision with his fellow fielder.
In the same over, Padikkal got going by flicking over deep square leg for six, while Kohli got off the mark with a slice over mid-off. Padikkal, however, continued his flying start by racing to 28 off 10 balls. He welcomed David Payne to the IPL with a six over cover-point, before whipping him for a four and six, as RCB reached 51 runs in just four overs.
Kohli soon joined the assault, manufacturing pace against Unadkat’s cutter and flat-batting him through cover, after having whipped him for six. With Padikkal collecting two more boundaries, RCB dominated the powerplay, as they amassed 73 runs for the loss of Salt.
Kohli then produced a trademark stroke against Eshan Malinga, lofting a length ball straight over the bowler’s head to bring the Chinnaswamy crowd to its feet. He was reprieved on 28 when Heinrich Klaasen misjudged a chance at long-on.
Padikkal continued his charge, racing to a 21-ball half-century – his fastest in the IPL – before falling for 61 – holing out to long-off against Dubey. Kohli, meanwhile, showcased his wrist power with a whip over square leg off Harshal Patel and launching Dubey down the ground for another maximum.
Rajat Patidar joined the boundary-hitting party with a crisp four through backward point and a six over long-on off Patel and Dubey. With Malinga missing his lengths, Patidar easily thumped him for a four and two sixes, as 22 runs came off the 12th over.
Though Patidar and Jitesh Sharma fell on consecutive deliveries to Payne, Kohli marched forward to bring up his fifty in 33 balls, before Tim David got two quick boundaries. Kohli then lofted, pulled and carved Patel for a six and two fours before finishing off the chase with an upper-cut through third man to complete an emphatic chase in style.
Brief 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 Bengaluru 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
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