Kohli, Padikkal perform well as RCB beat SRH easily in season opener to equal 202

New Delhi: Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), powered by a half-century, started their IPL 2026 season with a six-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Saturday. Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkar.Chasing 202, RCB posted 203 for 4 in 15.4 overs. Padikkal scored 61 off 26 balls while Kohli remained unbeaten with 69 off 38 balls. The duo added 101 runs for the second wicket in just 45 balls after Phil Salt was dismissed early.Padikkar and Kohli approached their innings in different ways. Padikkal relies on timing and positioning, while Kohli focuses on direct drives and shots. Padikkar struck pacer David Payne in the order of 6, 4, 6 and later hit Harsh Dubey for a boundary and a six-run run. He scored 50 off 21 balls, including 4 goals by Harshal Patel.Kohli used his range against Jaidev Unadkat and Eshant Malinga to maintain a steady scoring streak. RCB’s scoring rate remained high with the team scoring 50 runs in the fourth over, 76 runs in the Powerplay and 8.1 runs in 100 overs.Padikkal was eventually dismissed and caught by Heinrich Klaasen. Klassen earlier dismissed Kohli in 28 balls. Kohli then completed his half-century off 33 balls.RCB captain Rajat Patidar kept the chase going with 31 off 12 balls. The dismissals of Patidar and Jitesh Sharma did not change the outcome and Kohli completed the chase with a series of boundaries off Harshar Patel.Earlier, SRH posted 201 for 9 after being asked to bat first. Stand-in captain Ishan Kishan led the innings with a knock of 80 off 38 balls, including 8 fours and 5 sixes. He shared 97 runs for the fourth wicket with Klassen, who scored 31 runs.RCB decided to bowl first at a pitch that has not seen first-class cricket in almost 10 months. The move paid off quickly as rookie Jacob Duffy took 3 for 22 in four overs, using the bounce to trouble the batsmen.Duffy was awarded Man of the Match for his performance. Abhishek Sharma struggled to score runs and was dismissed for 7 runs after trying to pull the ball. RCB also reviewed the appeal against him in the first round, but it was unsuccessful. Similar shots came in from Travis Head and Nitish Kumar Reddy as SRH managed just 29 runs for 3 in 4.2 overs.Kishan then countered the pressure. He reached 50 in 27 balls and struck Abhinandan Singh and Krunal Pandya with multiple boundaries and six balls. He took the score to 80 after hitting the ball at third man, but was dismissed soon after and was caught by Phil Salt near the back line.SRH lost momentum in the final overs after Kishan was dismissed. Aniket Verma scored 43 runs off 19 balls and was bowled by Kohli off Bhuvneshwar Kumar in 26 balls, but the team managed to score only 59 runs in the last 5 overs.Brief results:Sunrise Hotel Hyderabad: 201/9 in 20 overs (Ishan Kishan 80, Ankit Verma 43; Jacob Duffy 3/22).Royal Challengers Bangalore: 203/4 in 15.4 overs (Devdutt Padikkal 61, Virat Kohli 69 not out).