IPL 2026 | Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal lead RCB to dominant win in tournament opener against SRH

Entering the tournament as defending champions, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) dominated the opening match of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 with a six wicket victory against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.

Chasing 202 to win, RCB got off to a poor start, losing Salt in the second over. However, local boy Devdutt Padikkal took on the SRH bowling to ace the powerplay before registering a 22-ball 50. His knock eventually came to and end at 61 off 26 balls. It was laced with seven fours and four sixes.

Virat Kohli, who played a second foil with Padikkal upped the rate post the powerplay and oversaw yet another successful run chase unbeaten. His knock of 69 came off just 38 balls, including five fours and as many hits into the crowd.

It was a sorry day for the SRH bowlers as they managed to pick only four wickets -- two of them came in the 13th over when the chase was almost done.

After opting to bowl, RCB started the powerplay with a bang as debutant Jacob Duffy struck thrice inside the powerplay and ended with figures of 3/22. However, skipper Ishan Kishan blazed through to 80 off just 38 balls, smashing eight fours and five sixes. Aniket Verma gave the finishing blitz even as the visitors lost wickets at regular intervals. He smased 43 off just 18 balls as SRH scraped over 200.