Bengaluru did not take it easy during the title defence. Jacob Duffy wreaked havoc on SRH's top order in his very first IPL match. Devdutt Padikkal sauntered out later and made a 202-run chase look like a net session. With a string of four consecutive fours, Virat Kohli swiftly reached his fifty. RCB made a winning start to their IPL 2026 campaign, which was the ideal opening that every RCB fan wanted, in some style.
Duffy Blows Away SRH's Top Order on Debut
There is a bit of history connected to the Chinnaswamy and players from the south of New Zealand. Brendon McCullum made his way on to the ground on the very first day of the very first IPL season in 2008. McCullum changed the way people thought about T20 batting. On IPL’s 19th birthday an extraordinary incident occurred at the same venue where another New Zealander from south of the country achieved something. The debut IPL bowler, Jacob Duffy, made the top order of SRH overlook his 31-ball spell.
At the toss, RCB captain Rajat Patidar mentioned a Jacob in his bowling lineup. Most people listening assumed he meant Jacob Bethell, who had just scored a brilliant hundred against India in the T20 World Cup semi-final. It was Duffy. He took the new ball and bowled four overs on the trot without any interruption. The 4-0-22-3 figures read at the end.
He continued to hit a hard length and aim for the stumps. Abhishek Sharma tried to pull him and top-edged. Travis Head tried the same and could not control it. Nitish Kumar Reddy went the same way. Some balls also held back off the surface & Duffy picked that up early and used it well. “After four overs, he walked off and sat in the dressing room with his feet up.” Job done.
Kishan Fights Hard on Captaincy Debut
SRH were 3 down early, but Ishan Kishan refused to let the innings cave in. This was his first match as IPL captain & he played like someone who had been doing it for years. He got to his fifty off 27 balls. IPL captaincy has changed how certain Indian batters approach their game in the past. Kishan was determined that it would not happen to him.
In the powerplay, he hit Bhuvneshwar Kumar for a cover drive to start the innings. He was then on the prowl against RCB’s other debutant, Abhinandan Singh & smashed him for 30 off 13 balls. As bowling changes were made, Kishan read Krunal Pandya and Suyash Sharma just as well. The youngster kept moving ahead with the scoring. He was batting on a different level than everyone else in the SRH lineup.
Only something genuinely special was going to get him out. In the sixteenth over, a delivery from Bravo invited a hoick from the left-hander. Phil Salt, running back from point, took a one-handed catch above his head at the boundary, leaving the fans on the ground clapping in approval. Kishan left for 80, hitting 38 balls. A captain's knock in every sense. Just on the wrong side of the result.
Aniket Verma Keeps SRH Competitive
After Kishan left, SRH needed a big finish to get past 200 & Aniket Verma gave them exactly that. He saw off 18 balls & hit seven of them to the fence or over it. He was not flailing his arms aimlessly. When Bhuvneshwar came around with a slower knuckle ball, Aniket held his shape, waited on it & ramped it cleanly over the keeper for six. That is a smart shot from a young batter under pressure.
He cleared the rope four times before holing out in the second-to-last over, trying to hit his fifth six. He made 43 & his innings pushed SRH to 201 for 9. Given how badly the top order had collapsed to Duffy, that was a decent recovery. On this pitch against this batting lineup, though, it was always going to be a tough ask to defend.
Padikkal Takes the Game Away From SRH
RCB lost Salt in the first over. Unadkat got him for 8 & for about thirty seconds, there was a hint of pressure. Then Padikkal walked to the crease & the match was effectively over.
He was picked ahead of new signing Venkatesh Iyer & he made Patidar look brilliant for that call. His first 11 balls produced three fours and three sixes. He brought up the fastest IPL fifty of his career off just 21 balls. Kohli watched from the other end and made a sensible decision. He was ready to have a go at SRH’s bowlers himself, but since Padikkal was hitting everything so cleanly, he changed his mind and sat back.
Padikkal and Kohli put up a partnership of 101 runs in 45 balls. By the time it ended, the asking rate was down to eight & over. Padikkal had done his job completely.
Kohli Ends It the Way Champions Do
Kohli scored a fast half-century in just thirty three balls. Harshal Patel bowled the 15 over, as the batter hit him for 6, 4, 4, 4, from the first ball. The match ended. RCB crossed the 202-run target in only 15 overs. In IPL history, KKR’s 200-run chase is the fastest ever by any team. All six of the bowlers in SRH managed to finish their over at an economy of 9.5 and 17.5 with 6 wickets in hand & twenty six balls to spare.
That economy rate range across six bowlers tells you everything you need to know about how the chase went. SRH had no answers once Padikkal and Kohli got going together.
What Both Teams Take Away From This
RCB were without Hazlewood, but Duffy stepped in and made that absence look like a non-issue. Three wickets on debut, a tight spell with the new ball, and full control of his lengths throughout. That is a lot to ask of a player on his first IPL outing and he delivered all of it.
SRH are without Cummins & it showed. Their bowling attack conceded runs at a rate that would have made Cummins wince, watching from wherever he is. Without him leading the attack and holding the bowling group together, they would look at a different side. That is a problem they will need to address quickly as the tournament goes on.
RCB defended the title successfully last season. They have started the defence of that title in the most convincing way possible. Duffy gave them something new. Padikkal gave them something explosive. Kohli gave them something inevitable.
IPL 2026 has only just started, & RCB already look like they are going to be very difficult to stop.