Bengaluru: The M Chinnaswamy Stadium was bathed in red on Saturday night — not just in colour, but in the commanding form of defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru as they opened their IPL campaign with a six-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad.After pacer Jacob Duffy (3/22) set up the game with a dream debut, it was Devdutt Padikkal and Virat Kohli who lit up the chase. Padikkal’s fluent 61 off 26 balls and Kohli’s unbeaten 69 off 38 ensured RCB made light work of the 200-run target, getting home with 26 balls to spare.
Playing in his backyard, Padikkal looked in complete control. Fresh off an impressive domestic season that saw him play a key role in Karnataka’s run to the Ranji Trophy final, the left-hander carried that form into the nightWalking in after Phil Salt’s (8) early departure, Padikkal wasted little time settling in. A trademark flick for six off Jaydev Unadkat set the tone. Particularly impressive was his intent against left-arm pacer David Payne, including a one-knee six.Often criticised for getting stuck on the crease, Padikkal showed improved footwork and raced to his half-century with a crisp straight drive, as Kohli cheered from the other end. Padikkal, going for a big one against Harsh Dubey, failed to get past the mid-off region with Klaasen taking a regulation catch. Kohli, who was on 30 when the partnership ended, shifted gears. He anchored the innings through a brief wobble that saw skipper Rajat Patidar (31) and Jitesh Sharma (0) fall off successive deliveries to Payne. With the finish line in sight, Kohli and Tim David (16 n.o) wrapped it up without fuss.
Duffy, Ishan show
The early narrative belonged to debutants – one making his IPL bow, the other leading a side for the first time in the competition.RCB pacer Jacob Duffy marked his debut in style, ripping through SRH’s top order. But Ishan, captaining SRH for the first time, stood firm against the early burst, producing a counter-attacking 38-ball 80 to pull his side out of trouble.SRH recovered from early jolts and owed their total to Ishan’s composure and Aniket Verma’s (43 off 18balls) late flourish.Duffy made an immediate impact. Spearheading the bowling attack in the absence of Australian quick Josh Hazlewood, the New Zealand pacer struck in his second over to break the back of SRH’s explosive top order. Abhishek Sharma miscued a pull to wicketkeeper Jitesh Sharma. Five balls later, Travis Head fell to a short ball, pulling straight to Phil Salt at deep backward square leg. Nitish Reddy followed soon after, top-edging another short delivery to Abhinandan Kumar at midwicket.While wickets fell around him, Ishan held his nerve. The left-hander found his rhythm against medium pacer Abhinandan Kumar in the sixth over, smashing 6, 4, 6 to signal a shift in momentum.Fresh from a strong T20 World Cup campaign, Ishan carried that form seamlessly. Ishan found an able ally in Heinrich Klaasen (31), and the duo stitched together a crucial 97-run stand for the fourth wicket.Just as Ishan looked set for a century, his 74-minute stay ended in dramatic fashion, with Salt pulling off a stunning one-handed catch at the boundary off to become Abhinandan’s maiden IPL wicket.
