Kohli-nation on social media was ecstatic. Cricket returned to Bengaluru on Saturday after a difficult yearthe city’s adopted son turned up and put on a performance that offered a glimpse of normalcy at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.
69 off 38 balls. A lofted drive of rare, scintillating quality, even by Virat Kohli’s stratospheric standards. There were lively celebrations, a fiery send-off, a dropped catch and another chase clinic. While Jacob Duffy’s clinical wickets and Devdutt Padikkal’s early blitz walked away with the post-match silverware, it was Kohli, working at his self-proclaimed 120 per cent, who dominated the lens and gave the fans a full return on their emotional investment.
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The face of the IPL’s most valuable franchise once again showed why few sporting experiences rival watching him in full swing at Chinnaswamy.
“My ear almost exploded,” said Dale Steyn, who was standing near the dugout as the crowd erupted at the mere sight of Kohli coming to throw. Kohli looked both battle-ready and relaxed, acknowledging the wall of sound from supporters who have waited 12 months for him in red RCB.
It was on from the first birth. There was no sign of rust despite it being his return to competitive cricket after a two-month layoff.
After years as India’s engine room of all formats, pulling the weight of a relentless global schedule, Kohli has entered a new, more selective chapter. And he’s clearly enjoying it. Having left Test and T20 International cricket, the 36-year-old manages a refined workload and focuses his international energies on ODIs. The extra breathing room allowed him to recalibrate physically and mentally.
When he turned up for India’s 2025-26 season a few months ago, the results were surgical: three centuries in nine outings, a chilling reminder of his enduring class.
Was it in danger of arriving undercooked for the new IPL season? For a man who treats preparation with the sanctity of ritual, it was never realistic. It arrived 120 percent ready.
“You know, the kind of schedule we’ve had over the last 15 years and the amount of cricket I’ve played – I’ve always been in danger of burning out rather than being undercooked. So these breaks have helped me immensely,” he told broadcasters after anchoring his match-winning 69. RCB chasing 202 in just 15.4 overs.
“I stay fresh, I stay excited. Whenever I come back to play, it’s 120 percent. I don’t come back under-prepared. In fact, the extra rest helps me mentally freshen up. As long as you’re physically fit and you’re mentally excited, both of those things come together beautifully, and then you’re able to contribute to what you want the player to stick to. You want to continue to perform and continue to work for the team.”
VIRAT REMEMBERS
As Jacob Duffy, the tall New Zealander, tore through the SunRisers’ top order, Kohli watched with visible delight. At one point he almost drew the referee’s attention with a particularly visceral dismissal of Travis Head.
Kohli does not forget.
It was Head who systematically dismantled RCB when these sides last met in Bengaluru in 2024, hitting 102 off 41 balls. When the Australian fell cheaply on Saturday, Kohli made sure the dismissal was properly broken.
For most of the first innings, Kohli was placed in the deep, allowing the newer recruits to shine. A keeper by trade but a live wire in the field, Phil Salt patrolled the boundary with the kind of athleticism that evoked memories of a young Brendon McCullum. To dismiss Ishan Kishan, who resuscitated SunRisers’ innings with a brisk 80 after they collapsed to 29 for 3, Salt plucked an amazing catch out of thin airan early contender for best of the season.
The spotlight turned back to Kohli as he was grazing the grass, a regular chance to remove the lower-order batsman, Aniket Verma. Fortunately for the RCB talisman, the mistake turned out to be inconsequential. Virat Kohli dropped a catch to Aniket Verma on Saturday (PTI Photo)
Did that drop weigh on Kohli as he walked over the rope to bat? Not a bit.
HE PLAYS THE SECOND BALL
He was content to play second fiddle early on as Devdutt Padikkal, promoted to No. 3, effortlessly launched a sustained assault on the stands. Kohli was sitting on a calm 7 off 6 balls at the end of the fourth over but bridged the gap in the blink of an eye – whipping a length ball from Jaydev Unadkat to midwicket level for his first maximum, followed quickly by a surgical boundary.
Kohli understood that he might not be the only protagonist of the evening. He gave the floor to Padikkal to dominate. Even after the young left-hander fell to a 26-ball 61, Kohli put away Rajat Patidar, who arrived in a destructive mood. Patidar’s 31 off just 12 balls ensured that the chase moved in only one direction – quickly towards the finish line.
Yet, even in a supporting role, Kohli ensured that he was the aesthetic highlight of the night.
SHOT OF THE TOURNAMENT?
Virat Kohli has now reached over 4000 runs as an opener in IPL (PTI Photo)
He delivered the blow of the tournament in the seventh over, a lofted drive from Ehsan Malinga of a fuller delivery that erased long on. The entire face of the blade looked like a business card; it was easy, accurate and a perfect economy of motion.
Then came the wrist. Faced with his former teammate Harshal Patel, Kohli hurled the ball into the stands with a dismissive forearm roll. How do you set the field for it? Why resort to the frantic world of ramps and backflips when your wrists can do the heavy lifting?
Kohli later admitted that he simply trusted his muscle memory.
“I didn’t play shots that I don’t usually play. So I knew as long as I was in rhythm and putting in enough physical work behind the scenes with my conditioning, things should come together well. Tonight was another chance to start strong,” he noted.
RCB lost both Patidar and Jitesh Sharma in consecutive deliveries in the 13th over. While the speed of questioning was firmly under control, Kohli ensured that there was no oxygen available for panic. When the last moment came, he took it emphatically and dismantled Harshal for sixteen with three boundaries and a six to seal the victory in style.
He ended the evening with a quick kiss with his wife Anushka Sharma in the stands – a gesture that was returned with equal warmth. The king was back in his counting house, his home away from home.
It may not have been the perfect set-up for IPL cricket’s return to Bengaluru, but Virat Kohli made sure the night was his and normalcy in his world was well and truly restored.
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– The end
Issued by:
Akshay Ramesh
Published on:
March 29, 2026 06:15 IST
