Summary of this article
Royal Challengers Bengaluru defeated Kolkata Knight Riders by six wickets in New Raipur
Virat Kohli was the star, scoring an unbeaten 105 off 60 balls with 11 fours and three sixes
The knock marked Kohli’s ninth IPL century, his first since 2023, and earned him Player of the Match honours
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) reclaimed the top spot in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 table with a six-wicket win over Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium in New Raipur on Wednesday.
Put in to bat first, KKR lost two wickets inside the powerplay, but Angkrish Raghuvanshi stitched together two significant partnerships with Cameron Green (32 off 24) and Rinku Singh (49 not out off 29) to stabilise the innings. Raghuvanshi finished with a career-best 71 off 46 to take KKR to 192/4.
RCB’s chase suffered an early blow after the wicket of Jacob Bethell, but Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal formed a 92-run partnership to put the match on a plate for the home side. Kohli remained unbeaten with a century, while Padikkal scored 39 off 27. RCB reached 194/4 with five balls to spare.
The result took RCB to the top of the table with 16 points from 12 matches, overtaking Gujarat Titans (GT). Meanwhile, the defeat was a hammerblow for KKR’s playoff hopes, with the three-time champions sitting in eighth place with nine points from 11 games.
| Pos | Team | Pld | Win | Loss | NR | NRR | Pts |
| 1 | Royal Challengers Bengaluru | 12 | 8 | 4 | 0 | +1.053 | 16 |
| 2 | Gujarat Titans | 12 | 8 | 4 | 0 | +0.551 | 16 |
| 3 | Sunrisers Hyderabad | 12 | 7 | 5 | 0 | +0.331 | 14 |
| 4 | Punjab Kings | 11 | 6 | 4 | 1 | +0.428 | 13 |
| 5 | Chennai Super Kings | 11 | 6 | 5 | 0 | +0.185 | 12 |
| 6 | Rajasthan Royals | 11 | 6 | 5 | 0 | +0.082 | 12 |
| 7 | Delhi Capitals | 12 | 5 | 7 | 0 | -0.993 | 10 |
| 8 | Kolkata Knight Riders | 11 | 4 | 6 | 1 | -0.198 | 9 |
| 9 | Mumbai Indians | 11 | 3 | 8 | 0 | -0.585 | 6 |
| 10 | Lucknow Super Giants | 11 | 3 | 8 | 0 | -0.907 | 6 |
Virat Kohli – Player of the Match
It was the Virat Kohli show in New Raipur on Wednesday, with the veteran batter roaring back to form in some style. After registering back-to-back ducks, Kohli stood tall with an unbeaten century as he bagged the Player of the Match award and fired RCB to a crucial win.
Kohli finished the match with 105 off 60 balls, including 11 fours and three sixes. This marked his ninth hundred in the IPL and his first in three years. He achieved further milestones with this knock, becoming the fastest player to score 14,000 runs in T20 cricket and also the first Indian to achieve this feat.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru Remaining Fixtures
May 17: Punjab Kings vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Dharamsala
May 22: Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Hyderabad
Kolkata Knight Riders Remaining Fixtures
May 16: Kolkata Knight Riders vs Gujarat Titans in Kolkata
May 20: Kolkata Knight Riders vs Mumbai Indians in Kolkata
May 24: Kolkata Knight Riders vs Delhi Capitals in Kolkata
