The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 started with a roar at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday (March 28). Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) made a victory statement against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). In a high-octane season opener, RCB chased down a mammoth target of 202 with clinical precision, winning by 26 balls from 6 wickets. The night was like ‘The King’ and ‘Sarraf Ogul’ Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal sent the home fans into a frenzy, turning a tight chase into a walk in the park.
Jacob Duffy’s early destruction and Ishan Kisha’s brave counter in the first innings
RCB, who won the toss and opted for the trophy, immediately put SRH on the back foot thanks to a sensational opening spell. Jacob Duffy. New Zealand paceman SRH has stripped away the dangerous, dismantling the top order with surgical precision. Head of Travis (11) and Abhishek Sharma (7) during the first three periods. When Nitish Kumar Reddy fell soon after, with SRH reeling at 29/3 and collapse looking imminent.
But the SRH captain Ishan Kishi conducted a heroic rescue operation. Playing the true captain’s batting, Kishan scored 80 runs in just 38 deliveries peppered with 7 fours and 3 big sixes. He found temporary support Heinrich Klaasen (31) because the pair stabilized the shots with a fast mean acceleration. Despite Kisha’s brilliance, RCB’s death bowling remained disciplined. Romario Shepherd He emerged as the main destroyer in the second half, picking up 3 wickets for 54 runs. SRH eventually reached 201/9 in the 20th over, which looked competitive on the traditionally batting Bengaluru surface.
Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal lead RCB home with their explosive knocks
The chase began with a small hiccup Phil Salt Departed early for a total of 8, but that only set the stage for one of the most dominant partnerships in recent IPL history. Kohli and Padikkal took the SRH bowling attack to the cleaners, displaying a perfect blend of classic timing and brute power.
Back in the colors in which he first rose to fame, Padikkal was the early aggressor. He reached his 50 off just 21 balls and finished with 61 runs off 26 balls which included 7 fours and 4 sixes. His departure at 110/2 did not slow the pace as Kohli took over the mantle of anchor-aggressor.
Kohli remained unbeaten on 69 off 38 balls at 181.57. His innings was a vintage display of gap-finding and calculated risk-taking, punctuated by 5 powerful sixes. Even a short double shot David Payneremoved Rajat Patidar (31) and Jitesh Sharma (0) failed to derail the train on the 13th. Kohli, by his side Tim David (16*), managed RCB crossed the finish line in just 15.4 overs and finished with 203/4. This crucial win not only earned RCB two points but also gave their Net Run Rate a huge boost, marking a perfect start to their 2026 campaign.
Here’s how the fans reacted:
VIRAT KOHLI’S LAST 25 BITS IN IPL:
42(20), 18(7), 51(43), 70*(44), 42(27), 92(47), 27(13), 47(29), 33(24), 59*(36), 31(30), 7(6), 67(42), 22(14), 26(14), 73*(54), 70(42), 51(47), 62(33), 43(25), 54(30), 12(12), 43(35) & 69*(38)#kohli #RCBvsSRH #IPL #rcb pic.twitter.com/r6J1eURv3x
— 𝕶𝖊𝖊𝖑𝖑𝖑 (@kohliverse37917) March 28, 2026
Chasing? This is his game. 😮💨🔥
4️⃣0️⃣0️⃣0️⃣* while chasing on the run #TATAIPL. 🎯
A first. standard. KING KOHLEY. 👑
HISTORY CREATED BY KING KOHLI. 👑
– Virat Kohli becomes first batsman to score 4000 runs in IPL while chasing.#RCBvsSRH pic.twitter.com/UMBaHAIk7t
— Gunner (@VinayTweet07) March 28, 2026
RCB beat SRH by 6 wickets 😊#cricket #RCBvSRH #IPL2026 #CricketTwitter pic.twitter.com/VDl8SrQfzZ
— CricketTimes.com (@CricketTimesHQ) March 28, 2026
DEVDUTT PADIKKAL IS ON! 🔥
21 ball fifty – pure destruction by the batsman! 🤯💥#RCBvsSRH pic.twitter.com/YY3V3J5END
— Khan (@ccricket713) March 28, 2026
🚨 Stat clock 🚨
Devdutt Padikkal vs Sunrisers Hyderabad = lowest impact 👀
Strike rate: 101.29
Six: 2 total 😮💨SRH silenced him more than any team 💥
Is it time to break the pattern or is the fight on? 🤔 #3rdManView #IPL2026 #RCBvSRH | @RCBTweets https://t.co/V48ov0gB50 pic.twitter.com/KkjVllVBNn
— Third Man View (@3rdManView) March 28, 2026
FIFTY FOR DEVDUTT PADIKKAL FROM TOTAL 21 BALLS 🥶
– Dev has been a different beast in recent times, dominating across formats from IPL to Karnataka.#RCBvsSRH pic.twitter.com/yFU2mvGTbv
— Nafees (@Nafees_22) March 28, 2026
CHEERS FOR DEVDUTT PADIKKAL from the CHINNASWAMY crowd 👌 pic.twitter.com/hIpA1FCfaX
– Jones. (@CricCrazyJohns) March 28, 2026
HISTORY CREATED BY KING KOHLI. 👑
– Virat Kohli becomes first batsman to score 4000 runs in IPL while chasing. pic.twitter.com/vAWisLGlg1
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) March 28, 2026
VIRAT KOHLI & DEVDUTT PADIKKAL COOKED SRH 🥶pic.twitter.com/KVdJEluM9Y
— Cricket Central (@CricketCentrl) March 28, 2026
Devdutt Padikkal vs SRH today pic.twitter.com/IGPpFo2MNO
— Aman_Chain 🏳️ (@Amanprabhat9) March 28, 2026
Virat Kohli has retired from test and T20, he doesn’t play regular international cricket but still retains that magic touch.
He is still the best batsman in the world and this version looks more dangerous.pic.twitter.com/fNE0l6cWnx
— Sujeet Suman (@sujeetsuman1991) March 28, 2026
