RCB Crush SRH in IPL 2026 Opener with Record Chase Led by Kohli

Chasing a formidable target of 202, RCB reached the finish line with 26 balls to spare, fuelled by Virat Kohli's 69-run innings and a destructive knock of 26-ball 61 from Devdutt Padikkal.

After kicking the campaign off with a win, the RCB captain hailed the team for a complete team effort. He also highlighted Jacob Duffy's impact in the powerplay as the turning point and credited Kohli and Padikkal for laying the foundation in the chase.

Notably, Duffy reduced SRH to 29/3 in 4.3 overs, claiming all three top-order wickets of SRH.

"The way boys played, and this was a season opener. Everyone chipped in and did the job. [powerplay bowling] Duffy was playing his first game, and the way he played and the wickets he took were the turning point. [Quick batting] Not a policy; we assessed the wicket, and it was good. Padikkal's and Kohli's innings were the base," he said at the post-match presentation.

Rajat Patidar lauded Kohli as the team's top batter and also appreciated Phil Salt's brilliant catch, which helped RCB get rid of a dangerous-looking Heinrich Klaasen. Patidar said his own approach was to make a quick and impactful contribution.

"[On Kohli] No words for him. The way he goes in, the team are chasing. He is the No. 1 batter. [Catching] That was a terrific catch by Salt. Even I was surprised, but he is a great fielder. [His batting] I wanted to create a lot of impact, and I wanted to chase this quickly. I just wanted to have a lot of impact," said Patidar.

SRH captain Ishan Kishan, on the other hand, said the team lost momentum due to early wickets, stressing the need for better shot selection and execution. He credited RCB's batters, especially Virat Kohli, and acknowledged SRH must learn quickly from mistakes while adding that he enjoyed captaincy and expects improvement going forward.

Notably, Kishan was the stand-in captain for SRH in the absence of Pat Cummins, the team's designated skipper.

"The wicket played well after the first three to four overs. We lost early wickets, and we have to take care of that. The wicket got better in the second innings. We have to be smarter with our shot selection. You have to give credit to the batters, especially Virat bhai. Very important to get his wicket. We have to work harder; these mistakes are acceptable in the first game, but we have to be cautious. [Captaincy] I enjoyed it a lot, but it is the IPL. Sometimes there are nerves, but we will get better as a team. If we win games going ahead, it will be even better," Ishan Kishan said.

Coming to the match, Sunrisers Hyderabad staged a strong recovery from an early collapse to post a competitive 201/9 against the defending champions in the IPL 2026 opener.

After losing three quick wickets of Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head and Nitish Reddy in the power play, a brilliant knock from Ishan Kishan and key contributions down the order powered Hyderabad past the 200-run mark.

Ishan Kishan hammered 80 runs off 38 deliveries, including eight fours and five sixes. Ankiet Verma played a blistering knock of 18-ball 43, including three fours and four maximums.

For RCB, Jacob Duffy (3/22) and Romario Shepherd (3/54) scalped three wickets apiece. Bhuvneshwar Kumar (1/31), Abhinandan Singh (1/38), and Suyash Sharma (1/28) bagged one wicket apiece.

In response, Kohli played a match-winning, unbeaten knock of 69 off 38 deliveries, including five fours and as many sixes.

Apart from him, Impact Player Devdutt Padikkal hammered 61 off 26 balls, with seven fours and four sixes.

Skipper Rajat Patidar played a blistering knock of 12 balls for 31, with three sixes and two fours as Bengaluru won the high-scoring contest by four wickets.

The defending champions also chase down the fastest 200-plus runs in the history of IPL. Bengaluru chase down the 202-run target in 15.4 overs.

- ANI