Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 Saturday (March 28) got off to a roaring start at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) won a statement against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). In a high-octane season opener, RCB chased down a formidable target of 202 runs with utmost precision and won by 6 wickets with 26 balls to spare. That night belonged to the ‘king’ and the ‘prodigal son’ Virat Kohli And Devdutt Padikkal A tough chase turned into a walk in the park, sending the home fans into a frenzy.
Jacob Duffy’s early destruction and Ishan Kishan’s brave reply in the first innings
Winning the toss and opting to bowl, RCB immediately put SRH on the backfoot thanks to a sensational opening spell. jacob duffy. The New Zealand pacer demolished the SRH top-order with surgical precision, removing the dangerous travis head (11) and Abhishek Sharma (7) Within the first three overs. When? Nitish Kumar Reddy Collapsed shortly afterwards, SRH were tottering at 29/3, and collapse looked imminent.
However, the SRH captain Ishan Kishan A heroic rescue operation was staged. Playing a true captain’s innings, Kishan scored 80 runs in just 38 balls with the help of 7 fours and 3 sixes. they received temporary support heinrich classen (31), as the duo steadied the innings at a brisk pace in the middle overs. Despite Kishan’s talent, RCB’s death bowling remained disciplined. Romario Shepherd He emerged as the destroyer chief in the latter half, taking 3 wickets for 54 runs. SRH eventually scored 201/9 in 20 overs, which looked competitive on the traditionally batting-friendly Bengaluru surface.
Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal led RCB to victory with their explosive innings.
The chase started with a little hiccup Phil Salt Was out early for just 8 runs, but it set the stage for one of the most impressive partnerships in recent IPL history. Kohli and Padikkal displayed a perfect blend of classic timing and brute force, taking SRH’s bowling attack to the cleaners.
Padikkal, returning in the same colors where he first rose to fame, was the primary aggressor early on. He completed a stormy half-century in just 21 balls and eventually scored 61 runs in 26 balls, which included 7 fours and 4 sixes. His departure at 110/2 did not slow down the pace, as Kohli took over as the anchor-aggressor.
Kohli remained unbeaten on 69 runs in 38 balls at an average of 181.57. His innings was a classic display of gap-finding and calculated risk-taking with 5 sky-high sixes. Even a brief double-strike david paynewhich was removed Rajat Patidar (31) and Jitesh Sharma (0) Could not derail the train in the 13th over. Kohli, together tim david (16*) took RCB over the finish line at 203/4 in just 15.4 overs. This emphatic win not only gave RCB two points but also saw a huge increase in their net run rate, which is an ideal start to their 2026 campaign.
Here’s how fans reacted:
Virat Kohli in last 25 innings 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), 62*(45), 1(3), 73*(54), 70(42), 51(47), 62(33), 43(25), 54(30), 12(12), 43(35) and 69*(38)#kohli #RCBvsSRH #IPL #rcb pic.twitter.com/r6J1eURv3x
Follow? This is his game. 😮💨🔥
4️⃣0️⃣0️⃣0️⃣* Runs in pursuit #TATAIPL. 🎯
A first. Standard. King Kohli. 👑
History created by King Kohli. 👑
– Virat Kohli has become the first batsman to score 4,000 runs while chasing in IPL.#RCBvsSRH pic.twitter.com/UMBaHAIk7t
– Gunner (@VinayTweet07) 28 March 2026
RCB beat SRH by 6 wickets#Cricket #RCBvSRH #IPL2026 #crickettwitter pic.twitter.com/VDl8SrQfzZ
– CricketTimes.com (@CricketTimesHQ) 28 March 2026
Devdutt Padikkal on fire! 🔥
Half century off 21 balls – pure destruction from an impressive player! 🤯💥#RCBvsSRH pic.twitter.com/YY3V3J5ENd
– Khan (@ccricket713) 28 March 2026
🚨State Watch🚨
Devdutt Padikkal vs Sunrisers Hyderabad = Lowest Impact 👀
Strike Rate: 101.29
Sixes: Only 2 😮💨SRH have kept them calmer than any other team
Is it time to break the pattern or will the struggle continue? 🤔 #3rdmanview #IPL2026 #RCBvSRH | @RCBTweets https://t.co/V48ov0gB50 pic.twitter.com/KkjVllVBNn
– Third Man View (@3rdManView) 28 March 2026
Devdutt Padikkal’s half century in just 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) 28 March 2026
Standing ovation for Devdutt Padikkal from the Chinnaswamy crowd. pic.twitter.com/hIpA1FCfaX
– Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) 28 March 2026
History created by King Kohli. 👑
– Virat Kohli has become the first batsman to score 4,000 runs while chasing in IPL. pic.twitter.com/vAWisLGlg1
– Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) 28 March 2026
Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal cooked SRHpic.twitter.com/KVdJEluM9Y
– Cricket Central (@CricketCentral) 28 March 2026
Devdutt Padikkal against SRH today pic.twitter.com/IGPpFo2MNO
– Aman_Chen 🏳️ (@Amanprabhat9) 28 March 2026
Virat Kohli has retired from Test and T20, he is not playing international cricket regularly but he still has the magical touch.
He is still the best batsman in the world and this version looks even more dangerous.pic.twitter.com/fNE0l6cWnx
– Sujeet Suman (@sujeetsuman1991) 28 March 2026
