In the IPL 2026 season opener, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) have secured a dominant victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) by six wickets at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium to start their title defence.
After RCB won the toss and chose to bowl first. The unit’s bowling performance was led by Jacob Duffy, who had an excellent debut. Duffy, playing in for the injured Josh Hazlewood, demolished the SRH top order, taking 3/22 in four overs, which included Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma in a single over. While Krunal Pandya and Suyash Sharma were targeted by Kishan in the middle overs, Romario Shepherd ultimately broke the vital partnership to end on 3/54. Veteran Bhuvneshwar Kumar demonstrated his skill in the end, bowling a tight last over against his previous side to keep the target in reach.
RCB’s chase was an insight in aggressive intent, with the game completed in just 15.4 overs. Devdutt Padikkal (61) set the tone with an explosive return to the Chinnaswamy, dismantling the SRH onslaught at a strike rate of 234.62. His early blitz enabled Virat Kohli (69) to anchor the innings with surgical accuracy, hitting boundaries at will while keeping the pressure off. Despite a short flutter when skipper Rajat Patidar (31) and Jitesh Sharma succumbed to successive balls from David Payne, the outcome was never in question. Tim David (16) delivered the final touches as the reigning champs cruised to a 6-wicket victory. By sustaining a collective strike rate far above 180, RCB demonstrated that their middle-order depth is no longer an issue.
Sunrisers Hyderabad’s innings was broken down into two parts. They had a dreadful start, falling to 29/3 in the powerplay as their explosive openers failed to fire. However, interim skipper Ishan Kishan (80) delivered a magnificent “captain’s knock to spearhead the rescue. He found a capable partner in Heinrich Klaasen (31), and the pair turned the tide with a 97-run stand. A late-innings cameo by uncapped Aniket Verma (43), propelled the total above 200, giving the SRH bowlers a fighting chance.
The SRH bowlers had a rough night on a flat Chinnaswamy deck. Without Pat Cummins, the attack lacked a clear captain. David Payne gave a short glimmer of hope with a double-wicket over, removing Patidar and Jitesh Sharma in consecutive balls to finish on 2/35. Jaydev Unadkat and Harsh Dubey both took a wicket but struggled to stop the flow of boundaries.
With this win, RCB have started their title defence in some style.
Scorecard:
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 201/9, Overs 20, Ishan Kishan 80, Jacob Duffy 3/22
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: 203/4, Overs 15.4, Virat Kohli 61, David Payne 2/35
