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Royal Challengers Bengaluru's Virat Kohli (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)
In a historical milestone, Virat Kohli became the archetypal cricketer to diagnostic successful each 19 seasons of the Indian Premier League, achieving the feat during Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s season-opening clash against Sunrisers Hyderabad connected Saturday, March 28, 2026. The lucifer was a cleanable signifier for Kohli to showcase his class. After SRH posted 201 for nine, stand-in skipper Ishan Kishan starred with 80 disconnected 38 balls, supported by Heinrich Klaasen’s 31 successful a 97-run fourth-wicket partnership.
Jacob Duffy
impressed aboriginal with figures of 3 for 22, exploiting the bounce connected a transportation that hadn’t hosted top-flight cricket for astir 10 months. Chasing 202, RCB’s effect was led by Devdutt Padikkal and Kohli. Padikkal’s 26-ball 61 and Kohli’s unbeaten 69 disconnected 38 balls powered a ascendant six-wicket win, with the hosts reaching the people successful conscionable 15.4 overs.
The duo stitched a 101-run concern for the 2nd wicket successful 45 balls, entertaining the Chinnaswamy assemblage with contrasting but arsenic effectual styles — Padikkal with wristy, assertive strokes, and Kohli with precision drives, flicks, and his trademark ‘swat’ shot. Padikkal raced to his 50 successful conscionable 21 balls, including 6, 4, 6 disconnected David Payne and aboriginal a 4 and 6 disconnected Harsh Dubey. Kohli, meanwhile, brought up his half-century successful 33 balls, mixing classical drives with quick-fire boundaries. The lone insignificant hiccups came with the dismissals of Padikkal,
Rajat Patidar
(31 disconnected 12 balls), and Jitesh Sharma, but the pursuit was ne'er successful doubt.
For SRH, Kishan’s blitz was the highlight. After aboriginal wickets reduced them to 29 for three, Kishan’s fearless strokeplay, including 8 fours and 5 sixes, kept SRH competitive. He fell to a stunning one-handed drawback by Phil Salt adjacent heavy backward point, with Aniket Verma (43 disconnected 19 balls) trying to accelerate successful the last overs aft being dropped by Kohli connected 26. RCB’s ascendant reply, nether Kohli’s experienced guidance, acceptable the code for their IPL-2026 run portion marking a singular idiosyncratic milestone for the seasoned batter.
