RCB VS SRH, IPL 2026: Ishan Kishan's Fighting Knock Plays Rescue Act For Sunrisers Hyderabad In Season Opener

Ishan Kishan, playing a captain's knock, helped SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) recover from a wobbly start in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 opener against defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru, on Saturday (March 28, 2026).

Reduced to 29/3 in 4.2 overs, courtesy Jacob Duffy's brilliant spell, SRH needed the skipper's presence in the middle inside the power-play, and he duly changed the course of the innings with a fine knock.

The 27-year-old from Patna in Bihar, together with South African Heinrich Klaasen, added 97 runs in 53 balls for the fourth wicket as the visitors counter-punched, and with some gusto.

The stand was broken in the 14th over, Klaasen caught at Phil Salt off Romario Shepherd, and the verdict came after multiple replays. The tumbling take at deep midwicket, at first glance, looked iffy.

SRH were 126/4 in 13.1 overs.

Earlier, RCB captain Rajat Patidar won the toss and decided to bowl first. The holders handed debuts to Abhinandan Singh and Jacob Duffy, and the latter's inclusion gave the holders early bragging rights. The Kiwi pacer claimed the first three wickets for 22 runs in a non-stop spell.

Ishan Kishan is leading the SunRisers in the absence of recovering Pat Cummins.

RCB Vs SRH, IPL 2026: Playing XIs

Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Virat Kohli, Philip Salt, Rajat Patidar(c), Jitesh Sharma(w), Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Abhinandan Singh, Jacob Duffy, Suyash Sharma

Sunrisers Hyderabad: Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan(w/c), Heinrich Klaasen, Aniket Verma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Salil Arora, Harsh Dubey, Harshal Patel, Jaydev Unadkat, Eshan Malinga