[[{“value”:”
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) made a dream start to their Indian Premier League 2026 (IPL) campaign, with pacer Jacob Duffy ripping through the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) top order in the season opener at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday.
After winning the toss, RCB skipper Rajat Patidar elected to bowl first, a decision that paid immediate dividends as Duffy struck early blows to leave SRH reeling.
The right-arm pacer was on fire, picking up three wickets in his four-over spell.
In a decisive over, he dismissed Abhishek Sharma (7 off 8) and Travis Head (11 off 9), denting SRH’s aggressive intent early in the innings.
SRH slumped to 29/3 in just four overs, struggling to recover from the early collapse. Duffy’s third scalp came when Nitish Kumar Reddy (1 off 6) was caught by debutant Abhinandan Singh, capping off a sensational opening spell.
The match also marked debuts for Abhinandan Singh (RCB) and Salil Arora (SRH), adding fresh faces to both line-ups.
Earlier, a solemn moment preceded the high-octane clash as players and spectators observed a minute’s silence in memory of 11 RCB fans who tragically lost their lives on June 4 last year. As a mark of respect, players from both sides donned black armbands.
The star-studded stands at the Chinnaswamy featured Anushka Sharma alongside Indian women’s cricket stars Smriti Mandhana, Shreyanka Patil, and Jemimah Rodrigues.
Speaking at the toss, Patidar expressed optimism about the season ahead, stating that RCB would “try their best to add the second star” to their jersey.
IPL 2026, Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Sunrisers Hyderabad: Confirmed Playing XI
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
“}]]
