Royal Challengers Bengaluru have drawn attention in both the boardroom and on the field during IPL 2026. The franchise probably made history by becoming the most expensive in the league after a group headed by the Aditya Birla Group bought it for about USD 1.78 billion (roughly 16,706 crore) from United Spirits Limited. That move more or less changed how people see the franchise’s value.
Coming into the tournament, RCB delivered a strong start with a match against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Chasing a tough 202-run target, they reached it in just 15.4 overs, the fastest successful chase of a 200-plus total in IPL history, at least in theory.
Ananya Birla at Chinnaswamy Stadium for supporting RCB against SRH. pic.twitter.com/Msb7TDHkiq
— Sonu (@Cricket_live247) March 28, 2026
Virat Kohli, Padikkal, and Patidar Lead With The Bat
The win happened in front of top figures from the new ownership, including Ananya Birla and Aryaman Birla, who were spotted cheering on the team’s dominant show from the stands. With the bat, Virat Kohli was not out on 69 off 38 balls. Devdutt Padikkal hit 61 off just 26 deliveries; that kind of pace is rare. Rajat Patidar added 31 off 12 balls to push things along quickly. The trio kept things moving without needing to stretch into late overs or rely on last-minute runs.
New owner Ananya Birla enjoying every bit of the Virat Kohli – Anushka Sharma reaction live! 😄
Anushka’s left-hand reaction be like: “This boy is always like this only!” 😂#IPL2026 #RCBvsSRH #virushka pic.twitter.com/4GZ5N5UU3g
— Suresh (@Suresthinakar) March 29, 2026
Earlier in the day, SRH put up a strong total of 201/9 after opting to bat first. After the young players were dismissed thrice with 29 runs on the board, the stand-in captain Ishan Kishan came out fighting and scored a wonderful 80 off just 38 balls. In the end, Ankit Verma was the one who came up with some good scoring towards the end with a quick 43 off 18 deliveries.
As far as bowling goes, it was the debutant Jacob Duffy who was the highlight for RCB with his excellent figures of 3/22 in his four overs, which were instrumental in limiting SRH to a total that was definitely chaseable. In short, it was almost an ideal start for RCB; not only did they achieve off-field success, but they also gave a very strong performance on the field, all of which points to their seriousness for the season ahead.
