Royal Challengers Bengaluru beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by six wickets in the IPL 2026 opener at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. Virat Kohli's unbeaten 69 and Phil Salt's stunning catches turned the game. Eleven seats were left empty as tribute to 2025 stampede victims.
The IPL 2026 opener took place on March 28, 2026, at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. RCB won the toss and elected to field first. Sunrisers Hyderabad scored 201 for 9 in 20 overs. Stand-in captain Ishan Kishan made 80 off 37 balls (8 fours, 5 sixes) before Phil Salt took a one-handed stunner at point off Abhinandan Singh.
Earlier, Salt caught Heinrich Klaasen (31) at deep mid-wicket in a controversial take upheld by the third umpire. Aniket Verma scored 43. RCB's Jacob Duffy claimed 3 wickets on debut, using short balls effectively.
RCB chased 202 in 15.4 overs, losing 6 wickets. Virat Kohli remained unbeaten on 69 off 38 balls (5 fours, 5 sixes). Devdutt Padikkal hit 61 off 26 (7 fours, 4 sixes) and captain Rajat Patidar made 31 off 12 (2 fours, 3 sixes).
Before the match, both teams observed a minute's silence for 11 fans killed in the 2025 stampede. RCB wore black armbands and left 11 seats permanently empty. Rajat Patidar said, "No words for Virat Kohli. He is the No. 1 batter." Ishan Kishan noted, "Virat bhai's chasing was crucial."
