New Delhi: Virat Kohli starred with the bat as Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) thrashed Gujarat Titans (GT) by five wickets on Friday, April 25, to continue their impressive run in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026. The defending champions signed off on a high from the Chinnaswamy Stadium, concluding their home leg at the venue with four wins in five games.
RCB will play their remaining two home matches in Raipur in the ongoing season. Kohli slammed a brilliant knock of 81 runs off 44 balls to help the hosts chase down the target of 206 runs in just 18.5 overs and bag the Player of the Match award in his side’s thumping victory against the Gujarat Titans.
However, the senior batter credited his teammate Devdutt Padikkal for being the hero in RCB’s victory. In pursuit of a tricky target of 206 runs at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, Kohli and Padikkal combined to share a match-winning stand of 117 runs for the second wicket for RCB. While Kohli top-scored for his team with 81, Padikkal scored a quickfire 55 off 27 balls.
Kohli heaped praise on Padikkal for his temperament in the run chase and admitted it was not the first time the left-hander had played a blinder for RCB in a chase this season. He also praised Padikkal’s technical ability, stating that the left-hander rarely slogs and manages to score quickly with great cricketing shots.
“I think Dev’s done this twice this season where he’s come in and absolutely played a blinder from ball one. You know, the first ball he hit off Rabada was magnificent and he has the game awareness and the ability, especially in conditions like ours, to be able to play good cricketing shots and hurt opposition, striking over 200, which is quite rare, to be honest,” said Kohli on Padikkal’s terrific half-century.
“You never see him slogging the ball. You feel like he’s not giving you a sniff in the game and yet he’s scoring so freely. So I think Dev’s innings was the clear difference in the first half. And then I was just trying to stay, in the game enough so that he doesn’t feel all the pressure,” he added.
In the absence of Phil Salt, Jacob Bethell played his first game for RCB against GT on Friday and opened the innings with Kohli. The England batter was dismissed cheaply on 14 early in the run chase, but Kohli combined with Padikkal to set the platform for a comfortable run chase for the hosts. RCB did lose wickets in a cluster in the middle, however, Krunal Pandya’s unbeaten 23 off 12 took them home comfortably in the end.
RCB move to 2nd spot on IPL 2026 points table
With the win, Rajat Patidar-led RCB jumped to the second spot on the IPL 2026 points table. The defending champions bounced back to winning ways after their six-wicket defeat against the Delhi Capitals at home in their last game. RCB will now play three away matches before taking on the Mumbai Indians in Raipur on May 10.
The defending champions will travel to Delhi for their next game against the Delhi Capitals on Monday, April 27.