- By Namrata Vijay
- Sat, 28 Mar 2026 11:34 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
RCB vs SRH IPL 2026: Royal Challengers Bengaluru defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad by six wickets during their tournament opener at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. RCB defeat SRH by 6 wickets in IPL 2026 match 1 at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on March 28, Saturday. After being put into bat, Sunrisers Hyderabad faced an immediate crisis. RCB’s debutant, Jacob Duffy, produced a clinical opening spell (3/22), dismissing Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, and Nitish Kumar Reddy to leave SRH reeling at 29/3 within the powerplay.
Devdutt Padikkal's 26-ball-61 was crusted with class. Virat Kohli's masterly unbeaten half-century powered Royal Challengers Bengaluru to a dominant six-wicket victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad. The match was the IPL 2026 season opener here on Saturday.
Padikkal and Kohli (69 not out, 38b) stitched 101 runs off just 45 balls for the second wicket. This partnership lent meat to RCB'ssuccessful 202-run chase in only 15.4 overs. The hosts finished at 203/4 and began their title defence in spectacular style.
After Phil Salt was jettisoned early, Kohli and Padikkal, in particular, took charge, treating the Chinnaswamy crowd to a brilliant batting exhibition.
Their approach to batting was as different as chalk and cheese. Padikkal used his wrists and feet, unleashing thunderous cuts. Kohli showcased his favorite drives, shots on the 'V', and his trademark swat flick.
Padikkal oozed the left-hander's class even while plundering 6, 4, 6 off pacer David Payne. Later, he biffed spinner Harsh Dubey for a 4 and a 6 off successive deliveries.
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The Karnataka batter fetched his fifty off just 21 balls with a four off Harshal Patel.
Kohli brought out his swat, a shot with minimal feet movement and a shot arm-throw. He used it against pacers Jaydev Unadkat and Eshan Malinga. Runs flowed thick and fast: team 50 came in the fourth over, Power Play produced 76, and 100 cascaded in just 8.1 overs.
But the partnership ended when Padikkal, after building momentum for RCB, was caught by Heinrich Klaasen at long-on off Harshal's bowling. This catch broke a critical 101-run stand that had set up RCB's chase.
Kohli soon reached his half-century off 33 balls with a single off left-arm seamer Payne.
Skipper Rajat Patidar continued the momentum for a smooth chase, waltzing to a 12-ball 31.
The consecutive dismissals of Patidar and Jitesh Sharma were just minor speed-breakers. Kohli's sequence of 6, 4, 4, 4 off Harshal laced an otherwise easy journey.
Earlier, stand-in captain Ishan Kishan smashed a blazing fifty. Sunrisers resisted Jacob Duffy's excellent spell but managed a slightly below-par 201 for nine.
Kishan (80, 38b, 8x4, 5x6) shared a 97-run stand with Heinrich Klaasen (31) for the fourth wicket. This partnership was the core of the SRH innings.
But the match started differently. Patidar asked Hyderabad to bat first on a pitch deprived of top-flight cricket for nearly 10 months.
The pitch would have been a rather unknown commodity, and chasing was a better option in that context.
This approach was validated by Duffy's spell (4-0-22-3), which also vindicated that thought.
The Kiwi pacer used his height well to generate bounce off the track. Abhishek Sharma (7) looked frustrated because he couldn't free his arm, despite carving Duffy for a six over backward point.
The left-hander has always been uncomfortable against short balls. He soon fell to his frustrations, as his awkward pull off Duffy ended in the big gloves of Jitesh Sharma.
Earlier, RCB had burned a DRS review for a caught behind appeal against Abhishek off Duffy in the very first over.
Travis Head and Nitish Kumar Reddy also failed to control their pull shots off Duffy as SRH slipped to 29 for three in 4.2 overs.
Kishan responded confidently, batting with bravado despite the situation.
The left-hander brought up his fifty in 27 balls with a four off leg-spinner Suyash Sharma, and his blitz contained some sparkling hits.
Abhinandan Singh bore the brunt of Kishan's wrath. Kishan carted him for 6, 4, 6. Later, spinner Krunal Pandya was hammered for two sixes in an over.
A mighty blow over third man off Abhinandan carried Kishan to 80, and a century was there for his taking.
But Abhinandan got his revenge when Kishan, on the verge of a potential century, was spectacularly caught by Phil Salt with a one-handed, diving effort near deep backward point. This turning point halted SRH's scoring surge.
This could definitely be high on the list of the season's best catches.
Kishan's dismissal robbed SRH of steam in the death overs. Aniket Verma (43, 19 balls), who Kohli dropped on 26 off Bhuvneshwar Kumar, struck a handy knock down the order.