BENGALURU: Virat Kohli smashed an unbeaten 38-ball 69 and Devdutt Padikkal a 61 as Royal Challengers Bengaluru defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad by six wickets in the Indian Premier League opener here on Saturday.
Asked to bat first, Sunrisers Hyderabad rallied to post 201 for nine as stand-in skipper Ishan Kishan led from the front with a 38-ball 80 after his side was reduced to 29 for three in the fifth over. Ankit Verma chipped in 43 off just 18 balls.
In reply, defending champions RCB completed the chase in 15.4 overs. Devdutt Padikkal (61 off 26 balls), Kohli and Rajat Patidar (31 off 12 balls) were the chief contributors with the bat for RCB.
Kohli Becomes Asian With Most T20 Runs
He was 29 runs away from achieving the feat prior to the IPL 2026 RCB vs SRH opening clash, and with his 50+ stand, has gone ahead of the former Pakistan international cricketer in the list.
