Bengaluru, March 29: Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) kicked off IPL 2026 with a spectacular victory, defeating Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) by six wickets at the M. Chinnaswamy Cricket Stadium on Saturday. Virat Kohli emerged as the hero of the match, scoring an impressive 69 runs. After the game, Kohli showcased his romantic side by blowing a ‘flying kiss’ to his wife, Anushka Sharma.

Kohli played a brilliant innings, facing 38 balls and remaining unbeaten at 69, striking at a rate of 181 with five fours and five sixes. Following the win, he was seen greeting and hugging players from the opposing team before turning to the stands to send a ‘flying kiss’ to Anushka, who reciprocated the gesture, bringing a smile to his face. Notably, Kohli also achieved a milestone by becoming the first batsman to score 4,000 runs while chasing in the IPL.

Demonstrating excellent form, Kohli steadied the innings after the early dismissal of Phil Salt for just 8 runs, forming a crucial partnership with Devdutt Padikkal. The duo put together a century partnership for the second wicket, with Padikkal scoring a quickfire 61 runs off just 26 balls, including seven fours and four sixes at a strike rate of 234.

RCB’s captain, Rajat Patidar, also contributed significantly, scoring 31 runs off 12 balls, while Tim David added an unbeaten 16 runs from 10 balls. Earlier, SRH set a target of 201 runs, losing nine wickets in their 20 overs, with captain Ishan Kishan top-scoring with 80 runs from 38 balls. Jacob Duffy, making his IPL debut, took three wickets for 22 runs, while Romario Shepherd also claimed three wickets.

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