Virat Kohli returned to form with his ninth IPL century as Royal Challengers Bengaluru beat Kolkata Knight Riders by six wickets in their IPL 2026 match in Raipur on Wednesday. Chasing 193, RCB reached the target with five balls remaining, powered by Kohli’s unbeaten 105 off 60 balls.Entering the match after two consecutive ducks, Kohli looked in control from the start. He celebrated with a fist bump after getting off the mark and quickly shifted gears by hitting four boundaries in one over Vaibhav Arora. He attacked both pace and spin in the innings and ensured that the required speed remained under control throughout the chase.Kohli reached his 50 off 32 balls and shared a crucial 92-run partnership with Devdutt Padikkal, who managed 39 off 27 balls with seven fours. Kohli later brought up his century with a single by Arora to register his ninth IPL hundred, the most by any batsman in the history of the tournament. Jos Buttler is second on the list with seven centuries.Most IPL hundreds
- 9 – Virat Kohli*
- 7 – If Buttler
- 6 – Chris Gayle
- 6 – KL Rahul
- 5 – Sanju Samson
The win took RCB to the top of the points table and moved above Gujarat Titans. There was celebration in the RCB camp after the finish as their senior batsman returned to form in a crucial game.The match started with a delay of 75 minutes due to rain and wet pitch, but the Raipur crowd stayed away to witness a high-scoring match.Earlier, Angkrish Raghuvanshi played the best innings of his IPL career to guide KKR to 192 for four. Batting at No.3, the 21-year-old scored 71 off 46 balls with seven fours and three sixes. It was his fourth half-century of the season.KKR got off to a shaky start after being asked to bat first. Ajinkya Rahane managed just 19 while Fin Allen scored 18 off eight balls before being bowled out by Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Josh Hazlewood then dismissed Rahane with a short ball after the KKR skipper had bowled Jacob Duffy in the previous over.At 56 for two after the powerplay, Raghuvanshi rebuilt the innings. He added 68 runs with Cameron Green, who scored 32 off 24 balls, before stitching 76 runs with Rinku Singh.Raghuvanshi mixed caution with aggressive move play. He regularly hit the offside boundary, played a powerful short-arm shot against Duffy and hit Krunal Pandya for a six over the ropes. He also smashed a slower delivery from Rasikh Salam straight back over the bowlers. His innings ended with a run-out on the last ball of the innings.Rinku Singh remained unbeaten on 49 off 29 balls, hitting three fours and two sixes. He missed his fifty by one run but helped KKR’s finish in a big way.Quick Score:Kolkata Knight Riders: 192 for 4 in 20 overs (Angkrish Raghuvanshi 71, Cameron Green 32, Rinku Singh 49; Bhuvneshwar Kumar 1/34).Royal Challengers Bengaluru: 194 for 4 in 19.1 overs (Virat Kohli 105 not out, Devdutt Padikkal 39; Kartik Tyagi 3/32).
