IPL 2026: Padikkal blitz, Kohli fifty helps RCB make short work of chase against Sunrisers

High octane cricket returned to the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium with a bang as Royal Challengers Bengaluru outclassed Sunrisers Hyderabad by six wickets here on Saturday.

It was a festive occasion at the iconic venue, which hosted its first top-level outing since the deadly stampede last year.

The packed house revelled in an entertaining night, one where RCB poster boy Virat Kohli (69 n.o., 38b, 5×4, 5×6), hometown hero Devdutt Padikkal (61, 26b, 7×4, 4×6) and captain Rajat Patidar (31, 12b, 2×4, 3×6) were in their element.

The trio’s fireworks took RCB to the 202-run target with 4.2 overs to spare. Padikkal gave the home team a flying start, ensuring that Phil Salt’s early dismissal made no dent.

Kohli was all class when a straight bat sent a slot ball from pacer Eshan Malinga to the sight screen. Later, the 37-year-old provided a stunner when he whipped a length ball from Harshal Patel deep into the square-leg stands.

Patidar kept the tempo up with a brief, explosive knock. There was a mild stutter when Patidar and Jitesh Sharma fell off successive balls, but there was no stopping RCB.

The SRH bowlers were much too full, on a surface with sticky bounce.

After being put in, Ishan Kishan (80, 38b, 8×4, 5×6) and Aniket Verma (43, 18b, 3×4, 4×6) landed the big blows to push SRH beyond 200.

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Kishan and Aniket were the only visiting batters who were able to connect sweetly. RCB fast bowler Jacob Duffy read the conditions well, banging in the short balls to great effect.

The batters rushed into the shot and mistimed it, handing the Kiwi three crucial top-order wickets.

Stand in skipper Kishan got going with a back-foot punch, and kept up the attacking instinct even as wickets tumbled around him.

Heinrich Klaasen (31, 22b, 2×4, 1×6) and Kishan put on a steady fourth-wicket alliance, until Salt took a good catch at deep mid-wicket while staying just inside the boundary rope.

Salt was back in action a couple of overs later, pulling off a one-handed effort to dismiss Kishan.

Aniket provided the spark at the end of the essay, only to be outshined by the Kohli and co.

Published on Mar 28, 2026