Kamal Ghorui
In a historic milestone, Virat Kohli became the first cricketer to feature in all 19 seasons of the Indian Premier League, achieving the feat during Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s season-opening clash against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Saturday, March 28, 2026. The match was a perfect stage for Kohli to showcase his class. After SRH posted 201 for nine, stand-in skipper Ishan Kishan starred with 80 off 38 balls, supported by Heinrich Klaasen’s 31 in a 97-run fourth-wicket partnership. Jacob Duffy impressed early with figures of 3 for 22, exploiting the bounce on a pitch that hadn’t hosted top-flight cricket for nearly 10 months. Chasing 202, RCB’s response was led by Devdutt Padikkal and Kohli. Padikkal’s 26-ball 61 and Kohli’s unbeaten 69 off 38 balls powered a dominant six-wicket win, with the hosts reaching the target in just 15.4 overs. The duo stitched a 101-run partnership for the second wicket in 45 balls, entertaining the Chinnaswamy crowd with contrasting but equally effective styles — Padikkal with wristy, aggressive strokes, and Kohli with precision drives, flicks, and his trademark ‘swat’ shot. Padikkal raced to his fifty in just 21 balls, including 6, 4, 6 off David Payne and later a 4 and 6 off Harsh Dubey. Kohli, meanwhile, brought up his half-century in 33 balls, mixing classical drives with quick-fire boundaries. The only minor hiccups came with the dismissals of Padikkal, Rajat Patidar (31 off 12 balls), and Jitesh Sharma, but the chase was never in doubt. For SRH, Kishan’s blitz was the highlight. After early wickets reduced them to 29 for three, Kishan’s fearless strokeplay, including 8 fours and 5 sixes, kept SRH competitive. He fell to a stunning one-handed catch by Phil Salt near deep backward point, with Aniket Verma (43 off 19 balls) trying to accelerate in the final overs after being dropped by Kohli on 26. RCB’s dominant reply, under Kohli’s experienced guidance, set the tone for their IPL-2026 campaign while marking a remarkable personal milestone for the veteran batter.
