Virat Kohli celebrates his half-century during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 T20 cricket match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Sunrisers Hyderabad at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, Karnataka. (PTI Photo) Bengaluru: The M Chinnaswamy Stadium was awash in red on Saturday night – not just the color but the commanding form of defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru as they opened their IPL campaign with a six-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad.After pacer Jacob Duffy (3/22) set up the game with a dream debut, it was Devdutt Padikkal and Virat Kohli who lit up the chase. Padikkal’s fluent 61 off 26 balls and Kohli’s unbeaten 69 off 38 ensured RCB made light work of the 200-run target and got home with 26 balls to spare.
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IPL 2026: Shubman Gill hits back at critics – ‘I don’t need to prove my worth’ Playing in his backyard, Padikkal looked completely in control. After an impressive domestic season where he played a key role in Karnataka’s run to the Ranji Trophy final, the left-hander carried that form into the night.Arriving after the early departure of Phil Salt (8), Padikkal wasted little time settling in. A typical swing for a six off Jaydev Unadkat set the tone. Particularly impressive was his intent against left-arm paceman David Payne, including a six over one knee.Often criticized for getting stuck at the crease, Padikkal showed improved footwork and raced to his half-century with a crisp straight drive as Kohli cheered from the other end. Padikkal, who went for a big match against Harsh Dubey, failed to get past mid-off and was caught by Klaasen at regulation. Kohli, who was 30 when the partnership ended, shifted gears. He anchored the innings with a short wobble that saw skipper Rajat Patidar (31) and Jitesh Sharma (0) run out off consecutive Payne deliveries. With the finish line in sight, Kohli and Tim David (16 no) wrapped it up without fuss.
Duffy, Ishan show
The early narrative belonged to the debutants – one bowing out in the IPL, the other leading the side in the competition for the first time.RCB pacer Jacob Duffy made his debut in style and cracked SRH’s top order. But Ishan, who was captaining SRH for the first time, stood firm against the early burst and produced a counter-attacking 38-ball 80 to pull his side out of trouble.SRH recovered from the early jitters and owed Ishan’s composure and the late bloom of Aniket Verma (43 off 18balls) for their total.Duffy immediately intervened. The New Zealand pacer, who spearheaded the bowling attack in the absence of Australian quick Josh Hazlewood, struck in his second to break the back of SRH’s explosive top order. Abhishek Sharma mishits keeper Jitesh Sharma. Five balls later, Travis Head fell to a short ball and pulled straight to Phil Salt at deep backward square leg. Nitish Reddy followed soon after and bowled another short delivery to Abhinandan Kumar at midwicket.As wickets fell around him, Ishan held his nerve. The left-hander found his rhythm against medium pacer Abhinandan Kumar in the sixth over and smashed 6, 4, 6 to signal a shift in momentum.Fresh off a strong T20 World Cup campaign, Ishan has carried this form smoothly. Ishan found an able ally in Heinrich Klaasen (31) and the duo put together a decisive 97 for the fourth wicket.Just as Ishan looked set for a century, his 74-minute stay came to a dramatic end when Salt took a stunning one-handed catch on the boundary to become Abhinandan’s first IPL wicket.
