Royal Challengers Bengaluru beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by 6 wickets
Royal Challengers Bangalore kicked off their IPL 2026 campaign with a bang, beating Sunrisers Hyderabad by 6 wickets in the opening match. Hyderabad batted first and put up 201 runs for 9 wickets in their 20 overs. Ishan Kishan led the charge with a quick 80, while Aniket Verma chipped in with 43. For RCB, Jacob Duffy and Romario Shepherd both picked up three wickets, keeping Hyderabad in check.
In this high voltage clash, RCB chased down the target in style, reaching 203 for 4 in just 15.4 overs. Virat Kohli stole the show with an unbeaten 69 off just 38 balls, smashing 5 fours and 5 sixes. Devin Paine was the pick of the Hyderabad bowlers, taking two wickets, but it wasn’t enough. The match, played in front of a buzzing crowd at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, set the tone for a thrilling season ahead.
“Breaks help me mentally. I stay fresh, I stay excited”: Virat
Royal Challengers Bangalore star batsman Virat Kohli, who smashed an unbeaten 69 off 38 balls during their six-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL 2026 opener, said the break helped him return refreshed. Chasing a target of 202, RCB reached 203 for four in 15.4 overs, thanks to Kohli’s unbeaten 69 and Devdutt Padikkal’s 61 off 26 balls.
After the match Virat Kohli said, “It’s good to get back out there. You mentioned T20 cricket, 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 yeah, tonight was another chance to start strong and build on this.”
“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 help me mentally. I stay fresh, I stay excited. Whenever I come back to play, it’s 120%. I’m not coming back underprepared. In fact, the extra rest helps me mentally freshen up. And as long as you’re physically fit and mentally excited, both those things come together nicely. Then you’re able to contribute to the team’s cause, and that’s what you want to do as a player,” Kohli added.
Ishan Kishan completed 3,000 runs
Ishan Kishan hit a big milestone in his IPL career the moment he scored his second run of the innings. He now has 3,000 IPL runs to his name. He’s the 29th player to reach that mark, with RCB’s Virat Kohli sitting on top of the all-time list. Over the years, Ishan has played for the Mumbai Indians, Sunrisers Hyderabad, and Gujarat Lions. For Gujarat, he racked up 319 runs in 16 matches, while with Mumbai, he’s scored 2,325 runs in 89 games.
Ishan also set a new record for the highest score by a batsman on his captaincy debut for SRH. He went past Manish Pandey, who hit an unbeaten 69 against Mumbai Indians in Abu Dhabi back in IPL 2021. Sitting in third is David Warner, the former Aussie opener, who managed 53 runs against CSK in IPL 2015.
