Kamal Ghorui
Dale Steyn was seen taking Virat Kohli’s autograph on one of the early India jerseys of the star batter before the IPL 2026 opener, in a moment that stood out ahead of the match in Bengaluru.Kohli then went on to register two milestones during the game between defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Sunrisers Hyderabad at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. He became the first batter in IPL history to cross 4000 runs in run chases.
He also moved past former Pakistan batter Shoaib Malik to become the sixth-highest run-scorer in T20 cricket. Malik has 13,571 runs from 557 matches and 515 innings, at an average of 35.99 with 83 half-centuries.In the match, Sunrisers Hyderabad recovered from an early collapse to post 201 for 9. The team lost Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head and Nitish Kumar Reddy in the Power Play before rebuilding.Stand-in captain Ishan Kishan scored 80 off 38 balls, hitting eight fours and five sixes. Aniket Verma added 43 from 18 balls, including three fours and four sixes.For RCB, Jacob Duffy (3/22) and Romario Shepherd (3/54) took three wickets each. Bhuvneshwar Kumar (1/31), Abhinandan Singh (1/38) and Suyash Sharma (1/28) picked up one wicket each.Chasing 202, Kohli remained unbeaten on 69 off 38 balls, with five fours and five sixes. Devdutt Padikkal, playing as Impact Player, scored 61 off 26 balls, including seven fours and four sixes.Captain Rajat Patidar made 31 off 12 balls, hitting three sixes and two fours, as Bengaluru won the match by four wickets.RCB also recorded the fastest chase of a 200-plus total in IPL history, reaching the target in 15.4 overs.
