Virat Kohli might have been the headline act of Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) win over Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 opener at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday, but one has to tip his hat to Devdutt Padikkal, who walked out to bat at No.3 for the franchise in the chase of 202. After the early loss of Phil Salt in just the second over, Padikkal, the left-hander, walked out, and one expected him to take a few balls before going big inside the powerplay. However, the 25-year-old made full use of his good form, as he continued from where he left off in the Ranji Trophy and Vijay Hazare Trophy.
Padikkal went after Jaydev Unadkat, Nitish Kumar Reddy and David Payne right from the start, and ended up scoring 61 runs off just 26 balls with the help of seven fours and four sixes. By the time he was dismissed, he ensured that RCB were well ahead of the asking run rate, and the win was a mere formality.
After the conclusion of the game, Kohli, who himself scored an unbeaten 69, was full of praise for the youngster, saying Padikkal hit the ground running and pretty quickly, he realised that the mature thing to do would be to give the strike to Padikkal as he was the batter who was going strong at that moment.
Kohli also said that Padikkal made him change his plans of going hard inside the powerplay, saying that, given the way the latter was striking the ball, the better option was to hand him the strike.
“Outstanding knock. I mean, right from the word go, I had plans of going aggressive in the powerplay. But when I saw him play, I was like, just keep putting him back on strike and pick the odd boundary here and there. He completely took the game away from the opposition. I even told him that shot he hit off the slower ball over mid-on for six, at that moment I said, just keep going. You’re hitting the ball amazingly well, just keep pushing and take the game away from the opposition. If we finish with 25-26 balls to spare, we’ll also benefit in terms of net run rate,” Kohli told the host broadcaster after the conclusion of the IPL 2026 season opener.
“His knock was tremendous. I’ve seen him at close quarters, the skill he has, and now he’s applying it. This is also at the back of a great domestic red-ball season. His timing, head position, and balance are absolutely world-class. I know what he can do with the bat when he’s confident, and tonight was a display of his sheer talent,” he added.
Kohli and Padikkal’s partnership
Kohli and Padikkal put on 101 runs off just 45 balls for the second wicket in the chase of 202. The left-handed batter was dismissed by Harsh Dubey in the 9th over, but by the time he was sent back to the hut, the defending champions had already half the runs of the 202 chase.
In the end, Virat Kohli (69*) and Tim David (16*) ensured that the RCB got over the line with six wickets in hand and 26 balls to spare. Jacob Duffy was adjudged as Player of the Match for his three wickets inside the powerplay.
