Virat Kohli lit up RCB's 202-run chase against SRH with an aggressive 69 off 38 balls at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Former Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) head coach Sanjay Bangar said that Virat Kohli's slower start during his match-defining, unbeaten 38-ball 69 against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Saturday was intentional.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) opener and assistant coach Dinesh Karthik were involved in a humorous back-and-forth on social media after their IPL 2026 opening day win.

The RCB vs SRH clash was the first big match held at the ground after the drastic incidents of June 4, 2025, when 11 lives were lost after a stampede due to thousands of fans gathering outside the ground to celebrate RCB's maiden IPL title win.

Devdutt Padikkal shared that Virat Kohli advised him to maintain a high run rate and keep pressure on the bowlers while Kohli anchored the innings.

Ravichandran Ashwin singled out RCB pacer Jacob Duffy for massive praise after his match-winning spell against SRH in their IPL 2026 clash.

Aniket Verma

Irfan Pathan believes SRH's struggles in the powerplay with the bat and ineffective bowling led to their six-wicket loss against RCB in the IPL 2026 opener.

Former South Africa fast bowler Dale Steyn has hailed Virat Kohli's evolution as a batter in the Indian Premier League.

In fact, his 26-ball 61 for RCB was representative of the transformation happening to his batting since 2024 or early 2025.

Former India all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin lauded star batter Virat Kohli after his magnificent knock guided Royal Challengers Bengaluru to a six-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Virat Kohli has been urged to reverse his Test retirement take up the team's captaincy in the longest format.

Virender Sehwag refused to let Ravichandran Ashwin off the hook as the latter made his Hindi commentary debut during the RCB vs SRH match in IPL 2026 on Saturday.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru underlined their status as defending champions as they began their IPL 2026 campaign in dominant fashion.

RCB's Devdutt Padikkal and Virat Kohli exploited SRH's bowling lapses, leading to a swift victory in 15.4 overs despite SRH posting 201 for 9.

RCB vs SRH: Devdutt Padikkal's aggressive innings laid the foundation for RCB's win, prompting Virat Kohli to adopt a supporting role during the chase against Sunrisers Hyderabad.

IPL 2026: Royal Challengers Bengaluru chased down the target of 202 runs against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL 2026 opener with more than 4 overs to spare.

Virat Kohli's last 10 scores in white-ball cricket are: 74, 135, 102, 65, 131, 77, 93, 23, 124, and 69 not-out. He has batted around an average of 100 in this period.