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In the IPL 2026 match against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) emerged victorious by six wickets at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium in New Raipur.
During the match, RCB`s stalwart Virat Kohli played an unbeaten knock of 105 runs off 60 deliveries, laced with 11 boundaries and three maximums.
Speaking about Kohli’s knock, former Australian cricketer Aaron Finch praised the Indian batter, saying that the way he constructed his innings without taking any risk was outstanding.
“It would have been important for him just to get off the mark. Nobody wants to get three ducks in a row. Some of those shots were absolutely class. His ability to sum up the conditions straight away is second to none. The way he got into his work so quickly and was able to get his innings underway with no risk was great,” he said on JioHotstar.
“That’s the dream as a player at the top of the order. We always know that if you allow him to have a look at a wicket for some time, he will be successful. When he’s playing at his absolute best, you feel as though he’s swinging the bat at 50 per cent. He just finds the middle, and he’s got that gift of timing. It was a wonderful knock. Any time he needed to find the boundary, he did,” added Finch.
Following the victory, the Rajat Patidar-led RCB is placed at the top of the points table. Having played 12 matches, Bengaluru`s men have secured wins in eight matches and suffered four defeats. They have a net run rate (NRR) of +1.053 and 16 points.
RCB will now take on Punjab Kings (PBKS) on May 17 at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamshala.
IPL 2026, Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Punjab Kings: Full Squads
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Virat Kohli, Josh Hazlewood, Swapnil Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jacob Duffy, Krunal Pandya, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Venkatesh Iyer, Phil Salt (WK), Rajat Patidar (C), Nuwan Thushara, Romario Shepherd, Tim David, Devdutt Padikkal, Yash Dayal, Rasikh Salam, Jordan Cox, Jacob Bethell, Vicky Ostwal, Mangesh Yadav, Suyash Sharma, Vihaan Malhotra, Abhinandan Singh, Kanishk Chouhan, Satvik Deswal.
Punjab Kings: Marcus Stoinis, Yuzvendra Chahal, Shashank Singh, Praveen Dubey, Lockie Ferguson, Shreyas Iyer (C), Ben Dwarshuis, Vishnu Vinod (WK), Xavier Bartlett, Yash Thakur, Azmatullah Omarzai, Vyshak Vijay Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Marco Jansen, Nehal Wadhera, Prabhsimran Singh (WK), Harpreet Brar, Priyansh Arya, Suryansh Shedge, Cooper Conolly, Mitchell Owen, Pyla Avinash, Harnoor Singh, Musheer Khan, Vishal Nishad.
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