Article by Suvankar Roy
The King’s reign began right where it left off. The defending champions have kicked off their journey exactly like champions should.
The 2026 IPL season got underway on March 28th with a high-stakes opening clash between the reigning titleholders, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). With Pat Cummins unavailable, Ishan Kishan stepped up to lead the Sunrisers. After winning the toss, RCB elected to field first—a decision that paid immediate dividends.
SRH found themselves in deep trouble early on, losing three wickets within the Powerplay. Jacob Duffy ran through the top order, dismissing Abhishek Sharma (7), Travis Head (11), and Nitish Kumar Reddy (1) in quick succession.
In the face of disaster, skipper Ishan Kishan stood like a shield. He played a scintillating knock of 80 runs off just 38 balls, decorated with 5 towering sixes and 8 boundaries. He found brief support from Heinrich Klaasen (31 off 22), while a late-order cameo from Aniket Verma (43 off 18) propelled SRH to a competitive total of 201/9 in their 20 overs.
For RCB, Jacob Duffy was the pick of the bowlers, returning clinical figures of 3/22 in his 4 overs. Romario Shepherd also claimed three scalps, though his spell proved to be more expensive.
Chasing 202, RCB lost opener Phil Salt early, but what followed was absolute carnage. Local hero Devdutt Padikkal, carrying his red-hot domestic form into the IPL, tore the SRH attack apart. At the other end, Virat Kohli was equally relentless. The duo’s aggressive stroke play saw RCB race to 76/1 within the Powerplay.
Despite Kohli now primarily focusing on One Day Internationals, he showed his class on the big stage once again. He remained unbeaten on 69 off 38 balls (5 sixes, 5 fours). Padikkal played his part to perfection, smashing 61 off 26 balls (4 sixes, 7 fours), while captain Rajat Patidar chipped in with a brisk 31.
In the absence of Pat Cummins, the SRH bowling unit looked toothless. RCB eventually cruised to a 6-wicket victory with a staggering 26 balls to spare.
What’s Next?
- RCB will look to maintain their momentum as they host the Chennai Super Kings on April 5th.
- SRH will aim to bounce back when they face the Kolkata Knight Riders this Thursday.