IPL 2026: Kohli’s 105* guides RCB to 6-wicket win over KKR in Raipur

RAIPUR: Virat Kohli’s 60-ball unbeaten 105 helped defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) beat Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by six wickets in their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 match on Wednesday at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium in Raipur.

Despite chasing a competitive target of 193, Kohli’s (105* including 11 fours and three sixes) century and Devdutt Padikkal’s 39 helped RCB to an easy six-wicket win, with five balls remaining.

RCB’s chase began with all eyes on Kohli, who entered the match following back-to-back ducks. With Jacob Bethell and Kohli on the crease, RCB started their chase in na quiet fashion, getting just one run off the opening over. However, in the next over, bowled by Vaibhav Arora, RCB got 18 runs as Kohli slammed four boundaries.

Bethell also joined the act as he scored two boundaries and a six in the next over as RCB stood at 36/0 in 3 overs. However, the opening stand was broken in the fourth over when Kartik Tyagi dismissed Bethell (15). Tyagi’s sharp, short delivery hurried Bethell, leading to a simple return catch for the bowler.

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Following Bethell’s departure, Devdutt Padikkal joined Kohli, and the duo shifted gears seamlessly. After six overs, RCB stood at 66/1. Both batters benefited from KKR’s lapses in the field. Rovman Powell dropped a chance to dismiss Kohli in the 6th over off Tyagi, while Vaibhav Arora gave Padikkal a lifeline in the 8th over off Cameron Green.

Kohli brought up his half-century off 32 balls in the 10th over as RCB reached 101/1 after 10 overs. KKR finally managed to break the 92-run stand between Kohli and Padikkal as Tyagi returned to bowl his third over for the match, scalping Padikkal (39 runs off 27 balls). After 14 overs, RCB stood at 133/2 with Kohli and new batter in captain Rajat Patidar. Despite the wicket, Kohli made sure that RCB got regular boundaries through him.

Sunil Narine got rid of captain Patidar (11) in the 16th over, but by then RCB had already gotten to 157/3. Kartik Tyagi returned to provide KKR another wicket as he got rid of Tim Davi (2) with the help of a brilliant one-handed blinder by Manish Pandey. However, RCB reached 181/4 after 18 overs.

Kohli reached his ninth IPL century in the 19th over, becoming the fourth-highest century scorer in T20 cricket. With just three runs needed off the final over, new batter Jitesh Sharma scored a boundary off the first ball of the last over as RCB won by six wickets.

With the win, defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru climbed to the top of the IPL 2026 points table, registering 16 points from eight victories in 12 matches. For KKR, Tyagi (3/32 in 4 overs) and Sunil Narine (1/31 in 4 overs) were the only wicket-takers.

Earlier, after being put in to bat first, Ajinkya Rahane and Finn Allen opened the innings for KKR. Allen launched an early assault on Jacob Duffy in the second over, hammering 14 runs. However, Bhuvneshwar Kumar struck back in the very next over, dismissing Allen for 18 and bringing young Angkrish Raghuvanshi to the crease.

After the early setbacks, Angkrish Raghuvanshi and Ajinkya Rahane counterattacked, putting the RCB bowlers under pressure with a flurry of boundaries. However, Hazlewood broke the stand by dismissing KKR skipper Rahane for 19, paving the way for Cameron Green to join Raghuvanshi at the crease.

KKR ended the Powerplay at 56/2. Despite the early loss of both openers, Angkrish Raghuvanshi and Cameron Green steadied the innings with a crucial rebuilding stand. The duo helped KKR recover strongly to reach 86/2 at the halfway mark.Green accelerated in the 12th over, smashing a six off Krunal Pandya to bring up the 50-run partnership for the third wicket.

However, Rasikh Salam Dar struck in the very next over, dismissing Green for 32 and bringing Rinku Singh to the crease. In the 14th over, Raghuvanshi brought up a well-crafted half-century, marking his fourth fifty of the season. With four 50-plus scores in IPL 2026, Raghuvanshi now holds the record for the most such scores by a KKR batter at the age of 21 in a single edition of the tournament.

The duo kept the pressure firmly on the RCB bowlers with an aggressive counterattack, powering KKR to 172/3 at the end of 18 overs. Josh Hazlewood then delivered a tidy 19th over, conceding just 10 runs to keep the scoring in check.

Rinku Singh launched a six in the final over off Bhuvneshwar Kumar, but the experienced pacer responded brilliantly by restricting the damage and giving away only 10 runs in the over. KKR eventually posted 192/4, setting RCB a target of 193 for victory. For RCB, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood and Rasikh Salam Dar scalped a wicket each. (ANI)