Virat Kohli's Century Leads RCB to Victory Over KKR in IPL 2026
RCB Triumphs with Kohli's Stellar Performance
Raipur (Chhattisgarh) [India], May 14: In a thrilling encounter at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium, Virat Kohli's remarkable unbeaten 105 off 60 balls propelled the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) to a six-wicket victory against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in their IPL 2026 clash.
Chasing a challenging target of 193 runs, RCB secured the win with five balls to spare, thanks to Kohli's explosive innings, which included 11 fours and three sixes, alongside Devdutt Padikkal's contribution of 39 runs.
The match commenced with Kohli under pressure after two consecutive ducks. RCB's innings started slowly, managing just a single run in the first over. However, Kohli quickly found his rhythm, scoring 18 runs in the second over bowled by Vaibhav Arora, hitting four boundaries.
Bethell also made his mark, hitting two fours and a six, bringing RCB to 36 without loss after three overs. Unfortunately, the opening partnership was broken in the fourth over when Kartik Tyagi dismissed Bethell for 15, who fell to a sharp delivery that led to a simple catch.
Following Bethell's exit, Padikkal joined Kohli, and they accelerated the scoring, with RCB reaching 66/1 after six overs. Both batsmen capitalized on KKR's fielding errors, with Kohli reaching his half-century in just 32 balls by the tenth over, as RCB stood at 101/1.
KKR managed to break the 92-run partnership when Tyagi took Padikkal's wicket, but Kohli continued to dominate, ensuring RCB maintained a steady flow of runs. Sunil Narine dismissed captain Rajat Patidar for 11, but RCB was already at 157/3.
Tyagi struck again, taking Tim David's wicket with a stunning catch from Manish Pandey, yet RCB reached 181/4 after 18 overs. Kohli celebrated his ninth IPL century in the 19th over, becoming the fourth-highest century scorer in T20 history.
With only three runs needed in the final over, Jitesh Sharma sealed the victory with a boundary, leading RCB to a total of 193 runs.
This win elevated RCB to the top of the IPL 2026 points table, amassing 16 points from eight wins in 12 matches. For KKR, Tyagi was the standout bowler with figures of 3/32 in four overs.
Earlier, KKR batted first, with Ajinkya Rahane and Finn Allen opening the innings. Allen's aggressive start was cut short by Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who dismissed him for 18. Despite early setbacks, Rahane and Angkrish Raghuvanshi steadied the innings, with Raghuvanshi eventually scoring a half-century, marking his fourth of the season.
KKR concluded their innings at 192/4, setting a competitive target for RCB. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, and Rasikh Salam Dar each took a wicket for RCB.