Virat Kohli’s Viral Dropped Catch and Unbeaten 69 Anchor RCB’s IPL 2026 Opening Win Over SRH

Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) opened their IPL 2026 campaign with a six-wicket victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). RCB successfully chased down a 202-run target in 15.4 overs to secure their first win of the season.

Kohli’s Fielding Lapse and Recovery

In the 18th over of the SRH innings bowled by Bhuvneshwar Kumar, SRH batter Aniket Verma mistimed a shot toward long-on. Virat Kohli settled under the ball, but it slipped through his hands and deflected off his thigh. Broadcast cameras immediately captured a lighthearted reaction from actor Anushka Sharma in the stands. Kohli recovered in the final overs, completing a clean catch to dismiss Verma for 43 runs off 19 deliveries.

SRH Innings: Ishan Kishan Counters Early Losses

RCB captain Rajat Patidar won the toss and elected to bowl on a pitch returning to top-level cricket after a 10-month hiatus. Pacer Jacob Duffy exploited the early bounce, dismissing Abhishek Sharma for 7 runs. Travis Head and Nitish Kumar Reddy also fell to Duffy, leaving SRH at 29 for 3 in 4.2 overs before they ended the Powerplay at 49 for 3.

Stand-in SRH captain Ishan Kishan orchestrated a recovery by scoring 80 runs off 38 balls. His innings included eight boundaries and five sixes. Key moments from the SRH innings include:

• Ishan Kishan and Heinrich Klaasen added 97 runs for the fourth wicket to stabilize the innings.
• Kishan reached his half-century in 27 balls, hitting consecutive boundaries against Suyash Sharma and Krunal Pandya.
• Following Kishan’s dismissal by Phil Salt near deep backward point, SRH struggled in the death overs, scoring only 59 runs in the final five overs to finish at 201 for 9.

RCB Run Chase: Padikkal and Kohli Dominate

Chasing 202 in the IPL 2026 opener, RCB reached the target in 15.4 overs, securing the win with 26 balls to spare. Devdutt Padikkal led the initial attack with 61 runs off 26 balls. Kohli anchored the chase with an unbeaten 69 from 38 deliveries. Patidar supplied late offense with 31 runs off 12 balls.

Match Statistics Summary