RCB vs SRH Highlights, IPL 2026: Kohli finishes off in style as RCB win season opener by 6 wickets

That’s a wrap from the IPL 2026 opener as Royal Challengers Bengaluru chase down 202 to beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by 6 wickets. Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, and Devdutt Padikkal starred with the bat, while Jacob Duffy bowled brilliantly in his debut game to give RCB a perfect start to the season. We’ll see you tomorrow as MI face KKR in Match 2 of the season.

[Happy?] 100% The way boys play and this was a season opener. Everyone chipped in and did the job. [Powerlay 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 and Kohli’s innings were the base. [On Kohli] No words for him. The way he goes in, the team is 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.

Jacob Duffy won the Player of the Match for his outstanding bowling as he took 3/22 in his four overs. “Awesome, hell of a way to start the campaign. Great win. [Doing the Hazlewood role] I am just keeping the big fellow’s seat warm. I just wanted to bowl the hard lengths, just keep the ball there. Even better that I got to walk off the field after seven overs. We talked about the lengths and stuff, what works here. Just build on what Josh did. [Learning from the T20 WC] I am sick of bowling to Abhishek for sure. Haven’t seen such bounce in India before as we saw here. But that was the case today. [Four overs on the bounce] Just Rajat said you go and I happily obliged, When the ball is hard and new is the best time to bowl on this surface.”

“It was good to get back out there. The last game I played was the final last year but I think the way I batted in the one-day series quite recently really helped me to stay in that same kind of momentum. I wasn’t playing shots that I don’t usually play so I knew as long as I have the rhythm and I’ve put enough work physically behind the scenes with my fitness, things should come together nicely and tonight was another chance to start strong and to build on this. [Plying one format] Well, you know, the kind of scheduling that we’ve had over the last 15 years and the amount of cricket I’ve played, for me there was always a risk of getting burnt out rather than being undercooked. So these breaks helped me immensely. I stay fresh, I stay excited. Whenever I come back to play, it’s 120%. I’m not coming back, you know, underprepared. In fact, the extra rest helps me to mentally freshen up. And as long as you’re physically fit and you’re excited mentally, all those things come together nicely and then you’re able to, you know, contribute for the team’s cause and that’s what you want to do as a player. You don’t want to hold on to a spot. You want to keep performing and, you know, keep putting in the work for the team. [On Padikkal] Outstanding knock. I mean, right from the word go, I mean, I had plans of, you know, going aggressive in the powerplay, but when I saw him play, I was like, keep putting him back on strike and hit the odd boundary here and there. So, yeah, he completely took the game away from the opposition and I told him that one shot he hit off a slower ball over mid-on for six. At that time, I told him just keep going on. I mean, you’re hitting the ball amazingly well and just keep pushing it and take the game away from the opposition. His head positions, his balance, absolutely world-class.”

“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. Mistakes are acceptable now because it was our first game, but not later in the tournament.”

Virat Kohli smashed a six and followed it up with three boundaries to finish the game in style for RCB. Harshal Patel came into the attack with 17 needed to win and Kohli smashed back-to-back boundaries to help defending champions finish the chase of 202 inside 16 overs and win by 6 wickets.

Virat Kohli has reached a classy 50 off 33 balls, playing the anchor’s role to the perfection. He has kept RCB firmly in control despite some blows at the other end.

Virat Kohli and Tim David are continuing to rotate the strike with singles but David Payne’s double strike has put a break on their momentum. RCB move to 170/4 after 14 overs. They need 32 runs from 36 balls with the game still very much in their control.

David Payne has turned the game with back-to-back wickets, first removing captain Rajat Patidar for 31 off 12 balls and then dismissing Jitesh Sharma for a golden duck. RCB are 164/4 in 13 overs. They need 38 off 42 balls to win the match and are still on course with Virat Kohli alive in the middle.

Rajat Patidar unleashed a brutal assault on Eshan Malinga, smashing boundaries and sixes in a 22-run over to tilt the chase decisively in RCB’s favour. Malinga bowled a 10-ball over including four wides. RCB race to 162/2 after 12 overs, needing just 40 from 48 balls against SRH.

Rajat Patidar is taking on bowlers and keeping the momentum firmly with RCB in this chase of 202. He is batting alongside Virat Kohli, who is also hitting the ball well. RCB move to 140/2 after 11 overs, now needing 62 runs from 54 balls against SRH.

Virat Kohli is anchoring the chase and is batting on 38 off 23 balls. He smashed a stylish six off Harshal Patel to start the over, with Rajat Patidar also finding a boundary. RCB reach 126/2 after 10 overs. They now need 76 runs from 60 balls against SRH to win IPL 2026 opener.

Virat Kohli produced a trademark wristy shot to pick up a flat six off Harshal Patel, sending the crowd into a roar. RCB are continuing to build momentum in the chase against SRH despite losing set batter Devdutt Padikkal in the previous over. Captain Rajat Patidar is supporting Kohli well.

Devdutt Padikkal’s match ends with Klaasen taking a good catch. RCB have crossed the 100-run mark, but Padikkal was not going to sit back. It was a fuller ball and while Padikkal managed good elevation, the depth of the shot was not good. Klaasen took the catch at long-off. He walks back with the crowd giving him a standing ovation.

Devdutt Padikkal c Heinrich Klaasen b Harsh Dubey 61(26).

There was a caught behind appeal against Kohli, but the umpire wasn’t interested. Kohli, however, gave another chance off Harshal Patel, but this time Klaasen dropped the catch at long-off while making a forward drive. Meanwhile, Devdutt Padikkal has completed an effortless fifty.

SRH bring Eshan Malinga into the attack after the powerplay and Devdutt Padikkal cuts the first ball past backward point for a boundary. Kohli gets the strike after a single and soon he smashes a fuller ball down the ground for a six. Top shot for the cameras. BTW, 76/1 was RCB’s fifth-highest powerplay score. Royal Challengers Bengaluru need 113 runs in 79 balls

Harsh Dubey, the left-arm orthodox spinner into the attack for the final powerplay over. Nine runs in the over, but Devdutt Padikkal finds a boundary with a sweep shot to backward square leg. SRH’s poor powerplay bowling has been exposed in the very first match. They are missing Pat Cummins. RCB 76/1 in 6 overs. Royal Challengers Bengaluru need 126 runs in 84 balls.

Kohli has joined the party! Unadkat’s harmless length ball is picked from the middle and leg and whipped over the cow corner for a six. The next big shot is on offside as he stands tall and plays a cut shot through the covers. Unadkat also conceded four bye runs. RCB 67/1 in 5 overs. Target: 202.

This is top batting from Devdutt Padikkal, the man in form from domestic cricket. RCB have already got 51/1 in just four overs. Two sixes and a four against David Payne in the fourth over. The first six was hit over deep backward point as Padikkal stepped down the ground. Then a whip shot over mid-wicket for a four and then a six in the same region off a slow ball.

Kohli got off the mark with a four over mid-off against Unadkat. Meanwhile, Nitish is back for a second over and Devdutt Padikkal has picked up two fours in the third over. The first four was earned through a flick shot, while the second was a lovely aerial cover drive. RCB 33/1 in 3 overs. Target: 202.

First ball by Undakat. Phil Slat tried playing a sliced shot on the off, but he miscued it in the air. Almost a collision between two fielders at cover, but Heinrich Klaasen manages to hold onto the catch. RCB 9/1

Interesting. Nitish Reddy bowls the first over for SRH after being rarely used in IPL 2025. Two fours in the over for Phil Salt as he plays a cut shot through backward point and a solid cover drive. RCB 9-0(1)

Virat Kohli and Phil Salt start the 202-run chase for Royal Challengers Bengaluru against Sunrisers Hyderabad after Aniket Verma’s heroics.

“Very good wicket and feels nice that the team total is beyond 200. I am hoping that we can defend this. [On his Wicket] It was the last ball, I was trying for a single but pushed a bit too hard. The new ball is skidding, so I think that will help our team.”

Sunrisers Hyderabad cross the 200 mark to end on 201/9 after an expensive final over from Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Jaydev Unadkat and David Payne scored 9 runs off the over and helped SRH reach the milestone. RCB will need 202 runs to win the match.

Aniket Verma’s explosive cameo came to an end as Romario Shepherd dismissed him for 43 off just 18 balls, halting SRH’s late surge. The wicket comes after a brief break in play with a wide decision being reviewed. SRH will look to cross the 200 in the final over to gain that psychologial advantage.

Aniket Verma is turning it on in the death overs with two sixes and a boundary off Romario Shepherd, pushing Sunrisers Hyderabad closer to the 200-mark. He is batting on 43 off 16 balls.

A rare fielding lapse from Virat Kohli as he put down a straightforward chance at long-on off the bowling of Bhuvneshwar Kumar. However, Bhuvi managed to get a wicket two balls later as he dismissed Harshal Patel. SRH 175/8 in 18 overs.

Romario Shepherd picked up another wicket in the 17th over as Harsh Dubey fell after a brief stay, adding to SRH’s late collapse. Despite a counterattacking six earlier from Aniket Verma, RCB continue to chip away with wickets in the death overs. Virat Kohli is absolutely pumped because he knows he can chase down anything less than 200 with ease.

Regular captain Pat Cummins is watching from the dugout as SRH keep losing wickets in the death overs despite a blazing knock earlier from stand-in skipper Ishan Kishan. Meanwhile, RCB have tightened the screws late in the innings to pull things back at the Chinnaswamy.