NEW DELHI: Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) began their IPL 2026 campaign with a six-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Saturday at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, driven by half-centuries from Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal.Chasing 202, RCB reached 203 for 4 in 15.4 overs. Padikkal scored 61 off 26 balls, while Kohli remained unbeaten on 69 from 38 deliveries. The pair added 101 runs for the second wicket in just 45 balls after the early dismissal of Phil Salt.Padikkal and Kohli approached their innings differently. Padikkal relied on timing and placement, while Kohli focused on drives and shots straight down the ground. Padikkal attacked pacer David Payne with a sequence of 6, 4, 6 and later hit Harsh Dubey for a boundary and a six in successive deliveries. He reached his fifty in 21 balls with a four off Harshal Patel.Kohli kept the scoring steady, using his range of shots against Jaydev Unadkat and Eshan Malinga. RCB’s scoring rate remained high, with the team reaching 50 in the fourth over, 76 in the Powerplay and 100 in 8.1 overs.Padikkal was eventually dismissed, caught by Heinrich Klaasen at long-on. Klaasen had earlier dropped Kohli on 28. Kohli went on to complete his half-century in 33 balls.RCB captain Rajat Patidar contributed 31 off 12 balls to keep the chase on track. The dismissals of Patidar and Jitesh Sharma did not change the outcome, as Kohli finished the chase with a sequence of boundaries off Harshal Patel.Earlier, SRH posted 201 for 9 after being asked to bat first. Stand-in captain Ishan Kishan led the innings with 80 off 38 balls, including eight fours and five sixes. He added 97 runs for the fourth wicket with Klaasen, who made 31.RCB’s decision to bowl first came on a pitch that had not seen top-level cricket for nearly 10 months. The move paid off early as debutant Jacob Duffy took 3 for 22 in four overs, using bounce to trouble the batters.Duffy was awarded Player of the match for his exceptional performance. Abhishek Sharma struggled to score and was dismissed for 7 after attempting a pull shot. RCB had also reviewed an appeal against him in the first over, but it was unsuccessful. Travis Head and Nitish Kumar Reddy also fell playing similar shots as SRH slipped to 29 for 3 in 4.2 overs.Kishan then countered the pressure. He reached his fifty in 27 balls and attacked Abhinandan Singh and Krunal Pandya with multiple boundaries and sixes. He moved to 80 with a hit over third man but was dismissed soon after, caught by Phil Salt near deep backward point.After Kishan’s dismissal, SRH lost momentum in the final overs. Aniket Verma scored 43 off 19 balls, having been dropped by Kohli on 26 off Bhuvneshwar Kumar, but the team added only 59 runs in the last five overs.Brief scores:Sunrisers Hyderabad: 201/9 in 20 over (Ishan Kishan 80, Ankit Verma 43; Jacob Duffy 3/22).Royal Challengers Bengaluru: 203/4 in 15.4 overs (Devdutt Padikkal 61, Virat Kohli 69 not out).
