RCB Crush SRH in IPL 2026 Opener as Kohli, Padikkal Power 202-Run Chase

NEW DELHI: Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru launched IPL 2026 with a statement victory, overwhelming Sunrisers Hyderabad by six wickets in Saturday’s season opener at a packed M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. The emphatic win, sealed with 26 balls remaining, propelled RCB to the top of the nascent standings and cranked anticipation ahead of Sunday’s heavyweight duel between Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders at Wankhede Stadium.

Virat Kohli marked his return to T20 action with a vintage display, crafting an unbeaten 69 off 38 deliveries, laced with five fours and five sixes. The innings, his 64th IPL half-century, guided the chase after impact substitute Devdutt Padikkal had detonated the Sunrisers attack. Padikkal’s 61 from 26 balls, including a 21-ball fifty, combined with Kohli in a 101-run stand that consumed only 45 deliveries and effectively settled the contest. Captain Rajat Patidar supplied the late acceleration, hammering 31 off 12, to ensure RCB surged past 202 in 15.4 overs despite David Payne’s double strike.

Earlier, SRH were asked to bat first and rode Ishan Kishan’s pyrotechnics to 201/9. The stand-in skipper muscled 80 off 38, sharing a 97-run partnership with Heinrich Klaasen after the hosts had slipped to 29/3. Debutant Jacob Duffy triggered the collapse, finishing with 3/22, while Aniket Verma’s 43 off 18 lifted the total past 200. Yet the target proved inadequate against RCB’s relentless batting unit.

With the tournament’s first upset already in the books, attention pivots to Mumbai, where five-time champions Mumbai Indians meet three-time winners Kolkata Knight Riders in Sunday’s prime-time clash.