After leading Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) to a convincing six-wicket victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the IPL 2026 opener, Virat Kohli showed affection towards his wife Anushka Sharma by blowing her a kiss. Kohli’s gesture towards Anushka, who was in the stands with Indian senior women’s team players including RCB women’s team captain Smriti Mandhana, was met with cheers from the crowd, adding a personal touch to the memorable night.
In the match, Sunrisers Hyderabad, batting first on a challenging pitch, posted 201/9 with captain Ishan Kishan scoring a brilliant 80 off 38 balls and Aniket Verma contributing a quick 43 off 18 balls towards the end. Despite impressive performances by Jacob Duffy (3-22) and Romario Shepherd (3-54) for RCB, Kishan’s fluent innings and Aniket’s late cameo pushed SRH past the 200-run mark.
Responding to the target, RCB’s top order handled the chase comfortably. Devdutt Padikkal’s explosive 61 off 26 balls, including seven fours and four sixes, set the momentum, while Virat Kohli, making a T20 comeback after ten months, thrilled the home crowd with an unbeaten 69 off 38 balls, featuring five fours and five sixes. Rajat Patidar’s quick 31 off 12 balls ensured RCB completed the chase with 26 deliveries to spare, showcasing aggressive intent from the beginning.
Kohli’s innings was highlighted by his classic strokes, including a lofted push over the bowler’s head, a whip over square leg, and a flat-batted drive through cover, as he notched up his 64th IPL fifty, with Sunrisers Hyderabad struggling to contain the flow of runs.
