RCB vs SRH Highlights, IPL 2026: Padikkal, Kohli fifties lead RCB to victory on opening night

That’s it from us for tonight, RCB has got its season off to a winning start, SRH has plenty of questions to ponder from here. Join us tomorrow for Mumbai Indians vs Kolkata Knight Riders.

Until then, good night and goodbye!

That wraps up the action from the Chinnaswamy Stadium, tomorrow night we will see Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders clash as they look to get their seasons off to a winning start.

Read Amol Karhadkar’s preview of the match here:

MI vs KKR, IPL 2026: Mumbai Indians holds edge against injury-marred Kolkata Knight Riders

Mustafizur Rahman’s BCCI-enforced exit had already weakened KKR’s bowling, and the subsequent season-ending injuries to Harshit Rana and Akash Deep have compounded the problem.

IPL 2026: Padikkal blitz helps RCB make short work of chase against Sunrisers

Devdutt Padikkal’s rapid 21-ball 61 helped Royal Challengers Bengaluru ease to a six-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL 2026 season opener at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday.

What a resounding chase from RCB that is! Brilliant knocks from Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar, and of course, Virat Kohli as RCB stormed its chase of 202 with 26 balls to spare.

Devdutt Padikkal set the tone early, blasting the SRH bowlers all over the place in a statement knock that cemented his spot at the top of the order. Once he fell, Patidar took over, keeping the momentum going before the chase-master took over to ice the chase.

Harshal Patel again....and Kohli dumps it over long-on for a huuuge six. What a shot! Slower bouncer, and helped over the keeper’s head for four more! RCB is closing in now. And four more! Advances down the track, and slapped through covers for four!

Slower ball short ball outside off, Kohli uppercuts it over third, and RCB starts its title defence with a resounding six-wicket win!

Payne gets another. Slower bouncer, David hacks it for one. Kohli pulls to deep midwicket, and Kohli moves to 50 from 33 balls, his 65th in the IPL. Four! What a shot, like a tennis forehand from David over covers and into the boundary. Slower bouncer is over his head. David swings over covers....and it just about gets over Nitish who is sweeping. Slapped for one more. Kohli pumps to the sweeper for one more.

RCB is 17 runs away now.

Unadkat again, David pulls for one. Kohli taps it to long-on for one. David underedges on over Unadkat for one more.

Kohli taps it to backward point, no run. Cut away for one more by Kohli, moves to 49. Slower bouncer from the bowler, and it bounces over David for a wide. SRH reviews the call...clearly over David’s head so the call stays. Slower ball again, David swipes it along the ground for one more.

Payne returns. Slower short ball to Kohli, pulled to midwicket for one. WICKET!! Patidar goes after a wide one, slices it up in the air and perishes.

Rajat Patidar c Harsh Dubey b David Payne 31(12)

Jitesh Sharma in at 5. WICKET!! Pulls the first ball to deep square leg. He falls for a first-baller.

Jitesh Sharma c Jaydev Unadkat b David Payne 0(1),

Tim David in at 6. Defends the hat-trick ball to point. Pushes the next ball to extra cover. Just two runs in the over.

Malinga with his second. Four!! Patidar with timing that Kohli would be proud of. Lofts it down the ground for a boundary. Six!! Patidar lofts an overpitched ball over long on for six more. Slower and wider, past the guideline. Six!! Overpitched again, Patidar smokes it over midwicket for six more. Picks up a single to long on. 50 run partnership in just 23 balls. Full and wide again, called a wide again. 22 from the over.

Harsh to Kohli, single to long on first ball. Six!! Patidar brings out the slog sweep, clears midwicke and almost hits the car on display. Slogged again, goes on the bounce to long on. A single taken. Six!! Kohli steps down the track and lofts one gun-barrell straight for six more. Kohli is beaten on the outside edge to complete the over. 14 from it.

Harshal to Kohli. Six!! Back of a length on the body, slogs across the line and clears midwicket. Trademark Kohli shot. Slower bouncer, pulled to wide long on for one. Four!! Patidar joins the fun. Cuts the slower ball through the offside for four. Yorker length outside off, jammed to the legside for one. Slower ball bouncer wide outside off, too wide. 15 from the over.

Harsh back for his second over. Kohli takes a couple of steps down the ground and pushes it to mid off for one. Four!! Edged and four. Padikkal gets an outside edge on an attempted cut. Six!! Padikkal gets on one knee and sweeps one over square leg for six. WICKET!! Padikkal finally mistimes one, looked to loft one down the ground, holes out to long on.

Devdutt Padikkal c Heinrich Klaasen b Harsh Dubey 61(26)

Skipper Patidar in at 4. Drives the first ball down the ground for a single. 12 from the over and a wicket.

Harshal Patel into the attack. Padikkal pulls the first ball to deep square for one. Full and wide, yorker length, Kohli can’t get bat on it. Appeal from Kishan but more of an opportunistic one, that. Dropped!! Klaasen puts it down. Kohli thumped one towards long on, connected it too well almost, Klaasen doesn’t read it right.

Fifty for Padikkal!! Ohhh the timing on that! Padikkal lofts a length ball over mid off and picks up a boundary. Slower ball outside off, Padikkal is beaten and so is Kishan. Second time he has let four byes through. 10 from the over.

Eshan Malinga into the attack. Four! Short and wide, Padikkal fimds the gap through point with his cut shot. A single to point follows. Kohli picks a double with a flick through the legside. Six!! Kohli at his best! Times a length ball straight down the ground and manages to clear the fence with ease. Slower short ball, Kohli fails to get enough bat on an attempted pull. Ball trickles back to the bowler. 13 from the over.

Harsh Dubey into the attack, SRH introduces spin in the last over of the powerplay. FOUR!!! Padikkal sweeps it over short fine leg for a four. Padikkal guides it to short third man for a single. Dubey angles it into the pads, Kohli inside edges it for a single. Full toss, Padikkal guides it to mid wicket for a single. Kohli mistimes it again, ball goes to midwicket, single. Another single. Decent over from Dubey as RCB finishes the powerplay with 76/1. A productive powerplay means the home side currently hold the upper hand in the match.

Dot ball. SIX!!! Kohli gets in on the act as well, smacks it over mid wicket. FOUR!!! Kohli makes room to hit it over the 30 yard circle on the off-side. Slower bouncer from Unadkat, Kohli reaches out to the ball and takes a single. What a start it has been for the home side so far. Another slow bouncer, Padikkal misses, and..... WHAT WAS THAT?!!! Kishan completely misjudges that, ball rolls onto the boundary. Last delivery of the over, ball hits Padikkal’s pads, he takes a single

Debutant David Payne into the attack. First ball dot. SIX!!! Padikkal just manages to clear deep backward point for a maximum. FOUR!!! Payne goes short and Padikkal pulls it for a boundary. The debutant is under pressure here. Change of pace from Payne, Padikkal hits the ball to deep square leg for a single. Kohli takes a quick single, gives the strike back to Padikkal who has been on a roll. PADIKKAL, WHAT A SHOT!!! effortlessly flicks it off the pad for a six, change of pace by Payne yields no result

Reddy back into the attack. Kohli flicks it to deep square leg for a single. BOUNDARY!!! Reddy goes full targeting his legs, Padikkal easily guides it to fine leg for a four. Padikkal takes a single by guiding it to point, Kohli back on strike.

Another delivery targeting the pads, Kohli tries to flick it but misses out, deflection of pads and another single.

BOUNDARY !!!Reddy goes full again, Padikkal lofts it handsomely over mid-off for another four. Padikkal tries to sneak it behind short third man but is stopped by some fine fielding, takes a single

Unadkat into the attack Salt hits it high in the air and.....CAUGHT!!! SALT GONE, collision between Arora and Klaasen at cover but Klaasen hangs onto the catch. Padikkal in and launches the first ball for a SIX!! effortlesslesly flicks it off his pads for a maximum. Padikkal punches the ball to mid on, sneaks in a quick single. Kohli on strike. Defends the first ball. Kohli gets going as well!!! lofts one through mid off for a boundary!!! FOUR RUNS!!!. Kohli guides it to cover, takes a single.

Salt c Heinrich Klaasen b Jaydev Unadkat 8(7) [4s-2]

Nitish Kumar Reddy takes the new ball, interesting call by SRH. Salt on strike. First slip in place. Salt defends. Slightly wider line, Salt drives handsomely but is intercepted at cover, no run. First four of the innings!!! Salt cuts to point to get RCB’s scoreboard going. Full length delivery with a hint of swing, Salt hits it straight to mid on. ANOTHER BOUNDARY!!! Salt gets going with another boundary, this time between cover and extra cover. Reddy goes down the leg side, leg bye and Salt takes a single to end the over.

Salt and Kohli walk out to begin RCB’s second innings. The home side will hope both openers can get a good start to set the chase on the right track. SRH will need to take atleast a couple of wickets in the Powerplay to take the upperhand in the game

IPL 2026: Ishan Kishan’s 80 off 38 against RCB shows he is no longer just impulse

IPL 2026: Ishan Kishan's impressive 80 off 38 against RCB showcases his evolving maturity and control as a T20 player.

SRH reaches 201, which feels slightly above par. It’s most certainly a good score given that Jacob Duffy ran through the SRH top-order pretty quickly. Stand-in skipper Ishan Kishan batted beautifully, carting the RCB bowlers all over, while Aniket Verma played a fiery cameo to close out the innings.

A word also for the catching of Phil Salt. He completed a smart (albeit controversial) catch to dismiss Heinrich Klaasen, and followed it up with an early contender for catch of the season to remove Kishan. Those catches are probably the difference between 202 and 230, but whether they will prove the turning point remains to be seen.

Stay with us for the chase.

Bhuvi to close out, Payne squeezes it into the offside for two. Chipped for two more. One legbye to follow it. High elbow drive from Unadkat, Padikkal cleans up at long off to save two. Perfect yorker from Bhuvi. Unadkat drives again, and the batters scamper away for two more.

Sunrisers Hyderabad finishes with 201 for nine in 20 overs.

Romario Shepherd again, single taken from the first ball. Slower ball, and Aniket picks the bones out of that one! That. Is. Huuuge. Four more! Short and wide, Aniket cuts past short third. Six more! No look six! Dead straight, and it’s all the way! What a cameo this is proving from Aniket! Reverse ramp, misses and it’s called a wide! Patidar reviews it. Aniket had moved across, so decision is reversed, no wide. Gone! Aniket goes with an over to spare! In the slot, and Aniket checks a drive straight to Kohli at long-off.

Aniket Verma c Virat Kohli b Romario Shepherd 43 (18b)

Harshal Patel is the new batter, Bhuvi to bowl. Starts outside off, Aniket drills for two. Slower bouncer, Aniket upper cuts for four! Nice shot. Hiiiiigh in the air... but Kohli shells it! Punched to cover for a dot from Harshal. Harshal slaps it....straight to long-off! Third catch for Devdutt Padikkal.

Harshal Patel c Devdutt Padikkal b Bhuvneshwar Kumar 0 (2b)

David Payne is the SRH Impact Sub for Travis Head, and is the new batter. Can he keep Varma company for long enough? Off the mark with a single to long-off.

Romario Shepherd for his third. Harsh Dubey is the new batter. On middle, and Aniket hoicks it over short fine for a massive six! Great shot! Yorker from Shepherd, Aniket digs it out for one. Dubey squeezes the ball to backward point for one to get off the mark.

Slower bouncer is pulled for one. Slower ball is called wide. Dubey pulls, Salt cleans up to keep it to two. Gone! Half-volley on leg, but Dubey flicks it straight to Devdutt Padikkal at deep fine.

Harsh Dubey c Devdutt Padikkal b Romario Shepherd 3 (3b)

Abhinandan back for his third over. Aniket defends the first ball of the over. Six!! Smokes the second ball of the over into the stands at midwicket. Was not short enough to trouble the batter.

Nails the yorker, Aniket does well to jam it down to backward point. Pull shot again, doesn’t connect well enough this time. Picks up a single to midwicket. Four!! Short and wide, Kishan carves it over the field behind square on the offside for four.

Salt with a stunner! No doubts about this one. Kishan went after a wide full toss, Salt takes a few steps to his right and holds on to a one-handed catch. End of a brilliant innings from Kishan.

Ishan Kishan c Phil Salt b Abhinandan Singh 80(38)

Suyash with his third over. Tossed up outside off, Salil picks up a single to the legside after an inside edge. Kishan picks up a single to point. WICKET!! Salil looks to power one to the legside with his bottom hand, holes out to Padikkal at deepwicket.

Salil Arora c Devdutt Padikkal b Suyash Sharma 9(6)

Aniket Verma in at 7. Four!! Googly outside off, guided past short third for a boundary. Short ball, Aniket pulls to long on for one. Seven from the over.

Shepherd back into the attack. Salt holds onto a catch in the deep, but it looks like he was eerily close to the boundary cushion. A third umpire check is underway.

The third umpire has given him out!! Looked very, very close to the ropes that. Unsure as to how confirming the evidence was. End of the dangerous Klaasen.

Heinrich Klaasen c Phil Salt b Romario Shepherd 31(22)

Salil Arora the new batter in. Starts with a defensive shot to the legside. Pulls a short of a length ball to square leg, falls just short of the fielder. Kishan punches a back of a length ball outside off to cover for one. Six!! Top edge for Salil as he looks to pull one, beats the fielder in the deep. Shepherd can’t believe it travelled so far. A single to close out the over.

IPL 2026: The blueprint against Abhishek Sharma is now public, can he respond?

The IPL opener at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium suggested that mapping against Abhishek Sharma, evident during his T20 World Cup struggles, now travels ahead of him.

Krunal starts with a full toss to Klaasen, who clubs it down the ground for six. Drives the next to deep cover for one. Kishan looks for an almighty pull, doesn’t connect. Just a single. Klaasen moves back and drives one to deep cover for one more. Six!! Krunal bowls from a lower height, Kishan pulls it behind square on the legside for six. Six!! Full and wide, lofted straight down the ground for a third six. 21 from the over.

Suyash with his second. Googly on the pads to Klaasen, gets a single to short fine. Kishan drives an overpitched ball down the ground for a boundary. Fifty up for Ishan Kishan!

Four!! Tossed up wide, Kishan lofts it over extra cover for a second boundary in succession. Yes- no between Kishan and Klaasen after he defends to cover. Klaasen makes it back at the non-strikers’ in time. Quicker ball, cut to backward point, can’t clear the fielder in the ring. Four!! Too short to Kishan, pulled behind square for a third four in the over. 13 from it.

Spin from both ends. Krunal Pandya into the attack. Klaasen waits on the back foot and chops one on the bounce to cover. A push off the back foot again, a single to long off. A single each for both batters. Slightly wide to Kishan, who cuts to deep cover for one. Uppish drive from Klaasen to long off, just evades a diving Krunal.

Suyash Sharma into the attack. First over of spin in the innings. Googly on the stumps to start, Kishan guides it to short third. Four!! Googly again, wider line, slapped through wide long off. David can’t keep it within the confines of the playing area.

Googly again, slapped to deep cover for a single. Klaasen picks up a single to long on. The cover fielder fails to prevent a single with a dive. Kishan sweeps a fuller one through forward square for a couple. A dot ball to finish the over. Eight from it.

Abhinandan back for a second over. Kishan takes a single to the legside on the first ball. Klaasen happy to give the skipper the strike back. Four!! After a dot, Kishan pulls the short ball through wide long on, splits the two boundary riders.

Kishan defends one to the legside and scampers back for a second. Four!! Streaky but SRH will take it. Inside edge on a wide yorker brings Kishan four more. Nine from the over.

Romario Shepherd into the attack. Padikkal replaces Duffy as the impact player. Klaasen drives the first ball down the ground to long on for one. Four!! Back of a length outside off to Kishan, guided past backward point for a boundary.

A touch fuller on the same line, Kishan slaps it to deep cover for a single. Four!! Too full on the stumps to Klaasen, caresses it down the ground for a boundary. Four!! A photocopy of the previous ball, another four for Klaasen. 16 off the Shepherd over.

Duffy to bowl out. Short ball to Klaasen, pulled to deep square leg for a single. Duffy to Kishan, short of a length outside off, guided to deep third for a single. Adjustment in length this over from the Kiwi.

Klaasen drives a wide ball off the back foot to deep cover for a single. Back of a length again, thuds into Kishan’s pads. A leg bye taken. An inside edge so will count as runs. A single to close out the over. Duffy ends with figures of 3/22 in 4 overs.

Abhinandan Singh on debut, Kishan looks to pull and loops just short of short midwicket. Short ball, and Kishan belts it into the stands for his first six of the day! Pulled again, and this time its in front of square for four. Nice punch back from Kishan. Extra bounce, Kishan cuts and it flies off a thick edge to deep third for six more! Full toss, and Kishan misses out.

Defended to midwicket for a dot, and SRH ends the PowerPlay 49 for three.

Does Duffy get three on the bounce? He does. Nitish defends on a good length. Nitish looks to pull, it’s hiiiiiiiighh...and Abhinandan Singh pouches it on debut! Jacob Duffy, welcome to the IPL!

Nitish Kumar Reddy c Abhinandan Singh b Jacob Duffy 1 (6b)

Heinrich Klaasen comes to the crease, and boy does SRH need him tonight. Left outside off to start. Pitched up and Klaasen drives through covers...Romario Shepherd does well to hunt the ball down and save one. Off the mark with three. Kishan guides a single down to deep third. Defended off the thigh pad for one.

Bhuvneshwar returns, and Kishan slaps it through covers for four! Knocked to extra-cover for a single to follow it up. Nitish Kumar Reddy is in at four, promoted above Heinrich Klaasen. Play and a miss, beats the outside edge. Knocked to point for a dot. Short and wide, Nitish cuts hard but Duffy makes an excellent diving stop at extra cover. Nitish gets off the mark with a clip to the leg side for one.

Duffy for his second, starts with a wide down leg. Out!! Dug into the pitch, Abhishek looks to swing it into the leg-side and gets only height. Jitesh settles under the high ball and takes the catch, RCB is up and running!

Abhishek Sharma c Jitesh Sharma b Jacob Duffy 7 (8b)

Captain Ishan Kishan is in at three, he had a fantastic SMAT at the helm of a team. Guided to deep third for one to get off the mark. Head backs away and pushes through cover but Patidar makes a good one-handed stop. Ooh, beaten on the under-edge as Head looks to play to leg. Four! Head strikes back, fuller from Duffy and Head belts it over mid-off for his first boundary. And he has another!! Head tries to wipe a shorter ball into the leg-side, but he picks out Phil Salt at deep backward-square perfectly!

Travis Head c Phil Salt b Jacob Duffy 11 (9b)

Bhuvneshwar Kumar shares the new ball. Head jams the ball into the legside for one. Abhishek backs away and guides the ball to point for a quick single. Head guides to deep third for a single.

Wide down leg. Abhishek looks to swing to leg, but misses and is hit on the thigh pad. Down leg for a wide again, well taken by Jitesh. Clear plan from the RCB bowlers to try and tuck Abhishek up. On the hip again, one legbye to Abhishek. Oooh, moral victory for the bowler, but Head gets a thick inside-edge past the leg-stump for four.

Duffy to Head, defended to point. Don’t expect that to keep going for too long. Head flicks to fine leg, one leg-bye given and SRH is off the mark. Oooh, beats Abhishek outside off. Jitesh thinks it’s out...and Patidar reviews. Nowhere near the bat...so it remains not out. Wide outside off, Abhishek slashes....and it carries all the way for six!!! First of the tournament! Abhishek has a hoick again, but it’s an airshot. Driven to point for a dot.

Seven from the first over, decent from Duffy.

We’re almost ready to start! Visuals show that Smriti Mandhana and Shreyanka Patil, stars of RCB’s WPL victory, are in the crowd, can RCB make it a clean sweep in 2026?

Jacob Duffy to bowl the first over to SRH’s dynamic opening duo, Travishek. How much can SRH put up here?

The two teams, accompanied by IPL chairman and KSCA president Venkatesh Prasad, observe a moment of silence ahead of the match in memory of the 11 fans that lost their lives in last year’s stampede.

SRH: Shivang Kumar, Liam Livingstone, David Payne, Smaran Ravichandran, Sakib Hussain

RCB: Devdutt Padikkal, Jacob Bethell, Rasikh Salam Dar, Kanishk Chouhan, Venkatesh Iyer

RCB jersey 11.png

Photo: K. Murali Kumar

Players trained with jerseys carrying the number 11 ahead of the game to honour those who lost their lives in the stampede last year. Eleven seats have also been kept aside in the stadium for the deceased.

SRH: Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan(wk/C), Heinrich Klaasen, Aniket Verma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Salil Arora, Harsh Dubey, Harshal Patel, Jaydev Unadkat, Eshan Malinga

RCB: Virat Kohli, Philip Salt, Rajat Patidar(C), Jitesh Sharma(w), Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Abhinandan Singh, Jacob Duffy, Suyash Sharma

RCB wins the toss, opts to bowl first.

“It’s the season opener, let’s see how the wicket behaves. We have good backup for our injured players. We are looking forward to the game. Jacob Duffy and Abhinandan Singh come in,” says skipper Rajat Patidar.

“Plans are clear with all players. Pat is one of the best bowlers, we will miss him. We just have to stick to our plans and we will end up on the winning side,” says Ishan Kishan.

A couple of heavyweights will miss the RCB vs SRH clash today. Let’s try figuring out a potential playing eleven for the two sides. without Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood.

RCB: Phil Salt, Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal/Venkatesh Iyer, Rajat Patidar (C), Tim David, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Krunal Pandya, Romario Shepherd, Mangesh Yadav/ Rasikh Salam, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jacob Duffy, Suyash Sharma (Impact Player).

SRH: Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan (C, WK), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Heinrich Klaasen, Liam Livingstone, R. Smaran/Aniket Verma, Harsh Dubey, Brydon Carse, Harshal Patel, Jaydev Unadkat, Zeeshan Ansari (Impact player)

Our reporter Ashwin Achal is at the venue for the season opener. “Increased police presence today. Police are ensuring people keep moving and are not standing around,” he says.

The deafening roar of ‘RCB! RCB!’ at the Chinnaswamy Stadium makes it a very difficult place for the opposition. But the ground has been anything but a fortress for the team.

RCB has lost 46 out of the 96 games at the stadium so far, one more than the number of wins it has managed. The team also conceded 287 against today’s opponent back in 2024.

Both RCB and SRH will be without their trump-card Australian fast bowlers, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins. Both have joined their respective sides, but do not have a firm date on when they return.

It expected that Hazlewood will return before Cummins, who is expected to play only the second half of the tournament, while Hazlewood is expected to be monitored but may return earlier.

Australian quick Mitchell Starc broke his silence on his delayed arrival for Delhi Capitals on Saturday, specifying that he would be arriving late due to elbow and shoulder injuries, and not due to workload management as had been reported elsewhere.

Delhi Capitals starts its campaign against Lucknow Super Giants on April 1.

There are a host of players that could be debuting for their franchises tonight. Venkatesh Iyer could slot into the middle-order for RCB, taking the spot of Liam Livingstone who could debut in orange. Joining him in the middle-order could be Salil Arora, who produced an incredibly impressive domestic season for Punjab.

With ball, Mangesh Yadav and Abhinandan Singh have both been mentioned as impressive in the RCB camp, while the likes of Krains Fuletra, Onkar Tarmale, and Shivang Kumar are all possible debutants as for SRH.

Sunrisers Hyderabad has had the better of this match-up in the past. Of the 25 matches they have played in the past, SRH has won 13 and RCB 11, while one match finished as a tie.

That was a low-scoring thriller in 2013, where Hanuma Vihari played a match-winning innings to help SRH over the line in a Super Over.

Tonight will be just the second time Sunrisers Hyderabad opens the tournament, and the last time it did was against Royal Challengers Bengaluru again.

The two met in Hyderabad in 2017, and fifties from Moises Henriques and Yuvraj Singh led the home team to a 35-run victory. The match also marked the IPL debut of Rashid Khan, who struck twice to dismiss Mandeep Singh and Travis Head (remember him?).

Despite suggestions over the last week that Bengaluru could see rain towards late March, the season opener is unlikely to be hampered by precipitation.

The temperatures are expected to hover between 25 and 27 degree celsius during the game.

It’s time for a brand new season of the Indian Premier League. The next two months will see evenings filled with sixes, wickets and a whole lot of entertainment.

Kickstarting the season will be defending champion Royal Challengers Bengaluru, who ended their long wait for the IPL crown with a convincing win over Punjab Kings in the final in Ahmedabad. ‘More of the same’ will be their mantra this year.

Sunrisers, on the other hand, had a middling season after the batting barrage of 2024, which took them to the final. The batting unit continues to instil fear in the opponent. The question will be if the bowling setup can turn up and contribute when required.

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