The defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) started their title defence with a bang, registering a thumping six-wicket win over Sunrisers
Hyderabad at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru, on March 28.
The 2026 season of the Indian Premier League began on a silent note in Bengaluru, as the league paid tribute to the victims of last year’s tragic stampede. A minute of silence was observed, while 11 empty seats in the stadium stood as a reminder of the 11 lives lost during Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s title celebrations in June 2025.
RCB’s captain Rajat Patidar won the toss and elected to bowl first. His bowlers did not let him down, producing a remarkable bowling display against a dangerous SRH batting side. New Zealand’s pacer Jacob Duffy had a tremendous outing as he picked up three wickets. What made his spell even more special was that he bowled all of his four overs on the trot. Romario Shepherd took three wickets too, whereas Abhinandan Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Suyash Sharma took one each.
SRH’s stand-in captain Ishan Kishan led brilliantly with the bat, scoring 80 runs in just 38 balls. Apart from him, Heinrich Klaasen (31 off 22 balls), and Aniket Verma (43 off 18 balls) played their part well to put on a respectable total of 201 in their 20 overs.
But, the total was chased easily by the hosts, who completed a thumping victory in just 15.4 overs, and lost only four wickets. Virat Kohli was the star of the show with the bat yet again, scoring a valuable unbeaten knock of 69 runs off 38 balls. Left-hander Devdutt Paddikal came out all guns blazing, scoring a counter attacking knock of 61 off just 26 balls. It was a comprehensive victory for the home side.
Below are the funniest memes from RCB vs SRH in Match No.1 of IPL 2026:
Virat Kohli smashing Malinga in 2026 pic.twitter.com/eAb98TqUQ0
— Sagar (@sagarcasm) March 28, 2026
STEYN WITH KOHLI'S U-19 JERSEY 😭 pic.twitter.com/ofyZjX5sMv
— Gaurav (@Melbourne__82) March 28, 2026
I could watch that Kohli six off Malinga on loop all evening.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) March 28, 2026
Kohli saab with first meme template of this IPL season. pic.twitter.com/FW19MAhIWS
— Silly Point (@FarziCricketer) March 28, 2026
THIS Kohli six. 😮💨😮💨😮💨 pic.twitter.com/wGLSWvBTnB
— Royal Challengers Bengaluru (@RCBTweets) March 28, 2026
Jacob Duffy's carnage 🔥#RCBvsSRH pic.twitter.com/dpuNejIIaU
— SwatKat💃 (@swatic12) March 28, 2026
Reaction of Anushka Sharma and Smriti mandhana after the wicket of Phil salt.😭 pic.twitter.com/UBxdGOxEwx
— Selfless⁴⁵ (@SelflessCricket) March 28, 2026
Bro haven't forgotten 19 nov yet 😭 pic.twitter.com/Ppc959ALLz
— Out Of Context Cricket (@GemsOfCricket) March 28, 2026
Welcome to the biggest IPL franchise pic.twitter.com/gUZyE46Pst
— ` (@chixxsays) March 28, 2026
Jacob duffy remove your mask, i know who you are.. pic.twitter.com/qjIJg8ycuJ
— Advit' (@Advitxvirat) March 28, 2026
This is RCB heritage at Chinnaswamy pic.twitter.com/D6eBHSYitF
— Kevin (@imkevin149) March 28, 2026
Our Childhood in a single Pic. 🥹❤️ pic.twitter.com/W60rRZi5nQ
— The Cricket View (@TheCricketView) March 28, 2026
