KOLKATA, MARCH 29, 2026: RCB (Royal Challengers Bengaluru) the defending champions, began IPL 2026 season with dominance against SRH (Sunrisers Hyderabad) at Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru. RCB won the match by 6 wickets (26 balls left), after SRH scored 201 in the first innings, and SRH faced a huge setback due to their bowling attack.
The match began with the toss won by RCB, and they chose to bowl.
Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head opened for SRH, but both did not make much impact as openers. Abhishek Sharma got out after scoring 7 runs in 8 balls, dismissed by Jacob Duffy. Head scored 11runs in 9 balls, also dismissed by Jacob Duffy and caught by Salt with a great catch.
Duffy played a major role in breaking the opening partnership in the powerplay. After that, Ishan and Klaasen built a decent and steady partnership in the middle overs, which helped the team reach a strong 200+ score on the board. Ishan scored an impressive 80 runs in 38 balls, and Klaasen added 31runs in 22 balls. Then the rest of the batting lineup did not perform well; Aniket Verma contributed with 43 runs in 18 balls. RCB did bowl well in the first innings and also showed incredible and sharp fielding, especially Salt with his beautiful catches. SRH finished thei first innings at 201/9 in 20 overs.
The 2nd innings started with the openers Virat and Salt. Salt got out after playing one over (9/1,1.1 overs). Then came Devdutt Padikkal, who played an incredible innings at the start of this season, scoring 61runs in 26 balls.
Virat and Devdutt built a fantastic and match-winning partnership, which was the main reason for the dominance shown in the match. Virat scored 69 runs in 38 balls not out, once again delivering a great and impressive innings, and was awarded Player of the Match. Both scored half-centuries,which had a huge impact on the match. Also, Rajat did a good job at a very important moment. RCB finished the match at 203/4 in 15.4 overs.
Just like previous years, the bowling proved to be an obstacle for SRH, and it remained the same in this match. Payne took 2 wickets, and the weak bowling lineup may bring troubles for SRH in upcoming matches. Both teams will face off on 22 May at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. RCB start the season as the champions.
