Royal Challengers Bengaluru defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad by six wickets in their IPL 2026 opener at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. Chasing 202 runs, the Rajat Patidar-led side dominated with the bat, with Devdutt Padikkal and Virat Kohli scoring a half-century each. Phil Salt departed early, but that didn’t bother RCB’s plan as Padikkal took over the business, smacking boundaries for fun.
He made 61 runs off 26 balls, which set the momentum. Captain Patidar too played a blistering knock of 31 runs in 12 balls. What followed Patidar’s dismissal was an absolute carnage. The veteran Virat Kohli, who played his first competitive game in over two months, stole the show with a commanding unbeaten knock of 69 off 38 balls.
He wreaked havoc in the middle and smacked the bowlers all across the park. Courtesy of his stupendous knock, RCB overhauled the target in just 15.4 overs, registering the fastest successful chase of a 200-plus total in IPL history.
Ishan Kishan reflects on defeat
Ishan Kishan, who played a phenomenal knock of 80 runs off 38 balls earlier in the day, reflected on the defeat, stating that the team lost too many wickets in the powerplay, resulting in the team being put under pressure. He analysed that the wicket changed with time and RCB took advantage of that, chasing the total in record time.
“I think definitely the wicket played well after the first 3-4 overs. You know, we lost a few early wickets, and we have to take care of that maybe next time because, looking at the wicket in the second innings, it was pretty much easier to bat on and the ball was coming on quite well. So yeah, we’ll have to be a little smart with the shot selection next time. But yeah, we did well after losing track, which gives a lot of confidence to us,” Kishan said in the post-match presentation.
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