Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru arrived in IPL 2026 in a similar fashion to how they ended the previous season. In the opening clash at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, RCB produced a dominant six wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad, chasing down 201 with 4 balls to spare.

Jacob Duffy’s powerplay burst shakes SRH top order

After winning the toss, the hosts opted to bowl first on a flat deck that slightly favored the batters. However, Jacob Duffy produced a dream spell with the new ball and gave RCB an early edge with his 3 wickets.

Despite the early setbacks, SRH skipper Ishan Kishan led a strong counterattack. He played a sensational knock of 80 runs off 38 deliveries, striking freely and keeping his side in the contest. He found support from Heinrich Klaasen, who contributed 31 runs.

Wickets, however, continued to fall at regular intervals. A late surge from Aniket Verma, who scored a quick 43 off 18 balls, helped Sunrisers Hyderabad push past the 200 mark. The innings eventually closed at 201 for 9 in 20 overs.

For RCB, Duffy stood out with figures of 3 for 22. Romario Shepherd also picked up 3 wickets but went for runs, conceding 54 at an expensive economy. Abhinandan Singh, Suyash Sharma, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar chipped in with a wicket each.

Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal dominate with bat

Chasing 202, RCB lost Philip Salt early in the second over for 8 runs. However, that early setback did not slow the defending champions.

Devdutt Padikkal and Virat Kohli took control with a commanding 101 run partnership. Padikkal played a blistering knock of 61 runs from just 26 deliveries before being dismissed by Harsh Dubey after a catch by Heinrich Klaasen.

Virat Kohli anchored the innings with a well paced unbeaten knock of 69 runs off 38 deliveries, keeping his side in complete control during the run chase.

For the bowling side, David Payne and Harsh Dubey picked up wickets, while Jaydev Unadkat also struck early by removing Philip Salt. However, the bowling unit struggled to contain the flow of runs as RCB batters dominated proceedings.

RCB vs SRH: Phil Salt pulls off a jaw dropping one handed screamer to dismiss Ishan Kishan - WATCH