India great Virat Kohli led the way as defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad by six wickets to begin their 2026 IPL campaign at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday.
Together with local favourite Devdutt Padikkal, Kohli established his dominance early in the 202-run chase, keeping the scoring rate well under control. Bengaluru finished the chase in 15.4 overs, registering 76/1 in the powerplay.
SRH fell to 29/3 during the powerplay after IPL rookie Jacob Duffy claimed three early wickets. However, a strong partnership between Heinrich Klaasen and stand-in captain Ishan Kishan, supported by lower-order cameos, pushed the visitors to 201/9.
With Kohli and Padikkal punishing SRH bowlers and exposing the gap left by injured star pacer Pat Cummins, RCB overhauled the target in 15.4 overs.
After receiving a respite on 28, Kohli—who currently only plays in one-day internationals—made SRH pay by smashing an undefeated 69 off 38 balls, including five fours and five sixes, while the home fans cheered the team on and chanted his name.
While captain Rajat Patidar contributed 31 to keep the runs flowing, Padikkal was equally fluid, hitting seven fours and four sixes in his 61 off 26 balls.
Prior to finishing his spell with figures of 3/22, pacer Duffy destroyed Hyderabad’s top order by dismissing aggressive openers Abhishek Sharma (7) and Travis Head (11) in quick succession. He also dismissed Nitish Kumar Reddy for one.
With 80 off 38 balls, including eight fours and five sixes, Kishan led SRH in scoring, followed by Klaasen with 31 and Aniket Verma with a quick 43 off 18 to give the innings late impetus.
SRH will play Kolkata Knight Riders on Thursday, while RCB will try to build on their winning start when they welcome Chennai Super Kings at their home venue on April 5.
