Kohli and Sharma shine as RCB and MI make winning starts in 2026 Indian Premier League
King Kohli powers RCB to record-breaking victory in 2026 IPL opener
The opening match of the 2026 Indian Premier League produced incredible entertainment, as the Royal Challengers Bengaluru kicked off their title defence in style, notching up a six-wicket victory over the Sunrisers Hyderabad at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday.
RCB opted to bowl first and made an excellent start with Jacob Duffy claiming the wickets of Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head in his second over before knocking over Nitish Kumar Reddy in his third and putting SRH under major pressure by the end of the powerplay.
However, Ishan Kishan, who was one of India’s standout performers at the 2026 T20 World Cup, got his side back on track with a vital 97-run partnership alongside Heinrich Klaasen before the South African batter departed for 31 runs to a stunning catch by Phil Salt.
Aniket Verma provided the team with a boost late in the day, smashing 43 runs off just 18 deliveries to lift them above 200 in their innings. Duffy and Romario Shepherd took three wickets apiece, while veteran Bhuvenshwar Kumar delivered an economical 1/31 in his four overs.
The defending champs were dealt an early blow in their run chase, with Salt falling to Jaydev Unadkat in the second over, but Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal got together and put on a 101-run stand for the second wicket, which got the team into a commanding position.
Skipper Rajat Patidar blasted a quick-fire 31 off 12 deliveries, and Tim David added 16 off 10 balls. Kohli saw the side to victory and confirmed our IPL predictions, finishing on 69* off 39 balls, including five 4s and five 6s.
RCB got to their target in 15.4 overs, marking the quickest that any team has successfully chased a total of 200+ in the IPL. The champions will return to action on Sunday, April 5, when they face the Chennai Super Kings here in Bengaluru.
Sharma, Rickelton star for Mumbai Indians against KKR
In the second match of the 2026 IPL, the Mumbai Indians secured a thrilling victory over the Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium, with veteran Rohit Sharma and Proteas’ batter Ryan Rickelton delivering with the bat in a massive run chase.
Put in to bat, KKR surged to an impressive total of 220 for four wickets in their 20 overs, with captain Ajinkya Rahane scoring 67 (40), while rising talent Angkrish Raghuvanshi delivered a masterful knock of 51 (29), marking his third half-century in his 19th IPL innings.
Unfortunately, the Knight Riders, who were missing Akash Deep, Harshit Rana and Matheesha Pathirana from their bowling department, were unable to make inroads early on, with Rickelton and Sharma putting on a stunning 148-run first-wicket partnership to put their team firmly in the ascendancy.
KKR briefly got the game back in the balance with crucial overs from Sunil Narine and Kartik Tyagi in the middle overs, but Hardik Pandya and Naman Dhir steered the five-time champions to victory in the end, doing so with five balls to spare.
The Mumbai Indians’ next challenge will come on Saturday, April 4, when they will head to the Arun Jaitley Stadium to take on the Delhi Capitals, three days before facing the Rajasthan Royals at the Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati.
