Indian superstar Virat Kohli and talented batsman Devdutt Padikkal stole the show in the IPL 2026 opener between Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Sunday, March 28.
Chasing 202 to win against SRH, Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal stitched a massive partnership of 101 runs in just 45 balls for Royal Challengers Bangalore. Padikkal played an explosive inning of 61 runs in 26 balls, while Kohli played an unbeaten inning of 69 runs.
Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal created a stir in the first match of IPL 2026.
Their strong and entertaining partnership powered RCB to a spectacular six-wicket win against SRH at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium with 26 balls to spare. The defending champions got off to a great start and Jacob Duffy performed brilliantly on debut, taking 3 for 22 to put SRH on the back foot.
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But it was Kohli and Padikkal who got the job done, increased the scoring rate and kept the momentum in RCB’s favour. Playing on his home ground, the Karnataka batsman looked calm and in complete control, continuing his excellent home form in the opening match of the 2026 season on Saturday.
However, it was Kohli’s approach at the crease that impressed former India and KKR batsman Aakash Chopra the most, and he could not stop praising the RCB icon on social media.
Keeping ego aside is his biggest strength: Aakash Chopra praises Virat Kohli
Chopra spoke about how Virat Kohli allowed Padikkal to play his natural aggressive game, never let ego come in the way and only focused on helping his team win.
The cricket pundit said the former Indian captain’s maturity and selflessness shows why he remains one of the most respected leaders and finishers in cricket.
Chopra posted on
Kohli’s biggest strength is to keep ego aside… If Padikkal is performing strongly, he is happy to play the second innings. He did the same with Rajat also. He never takes his eye off the bigger picture… which is ‘winning the game’ for G’s team. Champion player. #RCBvSRH
– Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) 28 March 2026
He completely took away the game from the opposition team: Virat Kohli lauds Devdutt Padikkal
Meanwhile, Kohli was full of praise for Padikkal for his remarkable efforts against SRH in Bengaluru. He said in the post-match presentation: “Excellent innings. I mean, right from the start, my plan was to be aggressive in the powerplay. But when I saw him play, I thought, just keep putting him back on strike and hitting the odd boundary here and there.”
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Kohli said, “He completely took the game away from the opposition. I also told him that he had hit a six over mid-on on a slower ball, at the same time I said, just keep going. You are hitting the ball amazingly, just keep pushing and take the game away from the opposition. If we finish with 25-26 balls to spare, we will also have an advantage in terms of net run rate.”
Notably, Royal Challengers Bangalore will take on Chennai Super Kings in their next encounter in IPL 2026 on April 5 at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru and will travel to Guwahati to face Rajasthan Royals on April 10.
