New Delhi: It was a night of domination, emotion and a touch of romance Virat Kohli Lighting up IPL 2026 opener – with bat and heartwarming gesture to wife Anushka Sharma.Push boundaries with our YouTube channel. Subscribe now!After leading Royal Challengers Bangalore to a six-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad, Kohli turned to the stands and blew a kiss to Anushka. The Bollywood star sat next to RCB women’s players, including captain Smriti Mandhana, and responded to the crowd’s erupting cheers with a blowing kiss and a smile.
The brief exchange went viral, becoming one of the defining images of the season opener and adding a personal touch to an already thrilling night at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.watch:
Kohli, Padikkal provide impetus for RCB’s clinical track
Kohli showed his enduring prowess with an unbeaten 69 off 38 balls, with 5 fours and 5 sixes, as RCB chased down a daunting 202 in just 15.4 overs.Talking about returning to T20 cricket after a long break, Kohli said: “Whenever I come back to play, I am at 120 per cent. I don’t come back ill-prepared and in fact, the extra rest helps me rejuvenate mentally.”He added, “You don’t want to just hold on to one spot; you want to keep performing and keep putting in the effort for the team.”Blasters stand-in Devdutt Padikkal set the tone with a stunning 61 off 26 balls while rajapatidar Quickly shoot 31 to ensure an easy end to the chase.Kishan performs well but SRH performs poorlyAfter putting in the bat, SRH rode a scintillating 80 yards off the stand-in skipper Ishan Kishan and Aniket Verma’s (43 in 18 games) brilliant performances towards the end of the 201/9 season.Despite a high total, their bowling attack struggled to contain RCB’s aggressive batting. “We will be more careful with our bowling…We may be stronger in the next game,” Kishan admitted after the match.RCB’s victory also came on an emotional night, with players wearing black armbands and observing a minute’s silence in memory of the fans who lost their lives in last year’s tragic stampede.
