Royal Challengers Bengaluru started defending their IPL 2026 championship in a great way, winning against Sunrisers Hyderabad by six wickets in the first match of the season in Bengaluru. They needed 202 to win, and Padikkal hit a fast 61 off 26 balls, while Kohli finished with 69 runs from 38 balls. He didn’t get out, and they won in only 15.4 overs which really pleased the home fans.
Kohli and Padikkal headline a ruthless chase
RCB did lose Phil Salt fairly early, but after that the scoring didn’t slow down. Padikkal and Kohli put on 101 runs in 45 balls for the second partnership, quickly getting lots of runs during the first six overs and causing problems for SRH’s experienced bowlers.
Padikkal hit the ball very cleanly and powerfully, with eight fours and five sixes. He reached 50 in just 21 balls and hit both fast bowlers and spin bowlers with the same ease. Kohli, as usual being very steady, drove the ball between the players in the field and used his special flick shot to keep the score well ahead of what was needed.
You could see how the game was going from the scores. The team reached 50 inside four overs, 76 in the first six overs (the powerplay) and 100 by the 8.1st over. Even after Padikkal was out, the captain Rajat Patidar quickly scored 31 from d12 balls to maintain the quick scoring, letting Kohli finish the game calmly.
Duffy’s dream debut sets the tone
Before that, RCB won the toss and decided to bowl on the Bengaluru pitch, which was being used for important games again after being closed for a while. Jacob Duffy, the player making his first appearance for the team, proved this decision to be right. His bowling, which made the ball bounce and was very accurate, really troubled SRH’s top batsmen.
Duffy took three wickets, getting rid of Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head and Nitish Kumar Reddy, and leaving SRH at 29 for 3 after five overs. His bowling spell of 4 overs, 22 runs and 3 wickets slowed SRH’s progress and meant RCB were chasing a reasonable score with the advantage of the new ball.
RCB did waste one of their chances to get a player out early, but Duffy kept bowling the ball in the right place. His short balls made the batsmen make mistakes and Jitesh Sharma, the wicketkeeper, did a good job helping with this plan. By the end of the first six overs, SRH had 49 for 3 and were trying to rebuild.
Kishan’s counterpunch and Verma’s late burst lift SRH
Ishan Kishan, who was captaining the team for this match, changed things with a brave 80 off 38 balls, and he and Heinrich Klaasen (31) added 97 runs together. Kishan hit anything that was a bit short or too far to either side, and hit Abhinandan Singh for 6, 4, and 6 in a row. He then went back to hitting spin bowlers to speed up the scoring.
Phil Salt made a brilliant, one-handed, diving catch at deep backward point to end Kishan’s innings at 80, and it looked like he might have got a much bigger score. Ankit Verma then quickly scored 43 from 19 balls, and he was helped by Virat Kohli dropping a hard catch when Verma was on 26.
SRH ended up with 201 for 9, with 59 runs from the last five overs. On most grounds this would have been enough to defend, but at Bengaluru it wasn’t quite enough once RCB’s best batsmen started playing really well.
Turning points and moments in the field
The turning point of the game started with Duffy’s bowling with the new ball, which showed SRH struggle against short balls. This early pressure from Duffy made it easier for RCB’s batsmen to start hitting from the very first ball without having to worry about the score.
In the field, SRH’s mistake of letting Kohli off when he was 28 (off Harshal Patel’s bowling) was costly. Shortly afterwards, Kohli hit 6, 4, 4, 4 in a row which pretty much finished the match. There was also a nice moment when Anushka Sharma (Kohli’s wife) playfully reacted in the stands after Kohli had been dropped earlier.
What it means for IPL 2026
For RCB, this is a perfect start to the season: they chased the score down easily, Kohli showed he’s in great form, and Duffy had a fantastic first game. Their net run rate (how many runs they’ve scored compared to how many have been scored against them) gets a good early improvement, and they have a lot of strong batsmen.
For SRH, there are some good things to take from the game. Kishan being confident at the top of the order and Verma hitting powerfully at the end are positives. They now need to bowl with the new ball more effectively, catch the ball when they get a chance, and bowl better at the end of the innings to protect their totals at places where lots of runs are usually scored.
Final scores: SRH 201/9 in 20 overs (Ishan Kishan 80, Ankit Verma 43; Jacob Duffy 3/22). RCB 203/4 in 15.4 overs (Devdutt Padikkal 61, Virat Kohli 69*, Rajat Patidar 31). RCB won by six wickets.
