New Delhi, March 29: Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) triumphed over Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) by six wickets in the opening match of IPL 2026 on Saturday. Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal both scored half-centuries, earning praise from former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra. He emphasized that Kohli’s ability to set aside his ego is his greatest strength.
Chopra shared his thoughts on social media platform ‘X’, stating, “Kohli’s biggest strength is his ability to keep his ego aside. If Devdutt Padikkal is playing exceptionally well, he willingly takes on the anchor role. He did the same with Rajat as well. He never loses sight of the bigger picture, which is to win the match for the team. Kohli is a champion player.”
During the chase of a 202-run target against SRH, Kohli was quick to accumulate runs in the powerplay. However, upon noticing Padikkal’s aggressive batting, he adapted to play the anchor role. Kohli provided Padikkal the freedom to play his game, which resulted in an explosive innings of 61 runs off just 26 balls at a strike rate of 234, including seven fours and four sixes. Kohli also supported Rajat Patidar in a similar manner, as Patidar scored 31 runs off just 12 balls at a strike rate of 258. RCB successfully chased down the 202-run target in just 15.4 overs.
Earlier, SRH set a target of 201 runs, thanks to a powerful innings of 80 runs off 38 balls by captain Ishan Kishan. Alongside Ishan, Aniket Verma contributed a brisk 43 runs off 18 balls. On the bowling front, RCB’s Jacob Duffy and Romario Shepherd each took three wickets.
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