New Delhi: Drop Virat Kohli At your own risk – that warning was effectively delivered to Gujarat Titans when they bowled out the star batsman in the very first over of their IPL 2026 clash against Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Friday. Kohli was given a reprieve when Washington Sundar dropped him off Mohammad Siraj in the opening over of the RCB innings, and the missed opportunity proved costly.Kohli scored 81 off 44 balls, leading RCB to a five-wicket win over Gujarat Titans.Speaking on Star Sports, the legendary… Sunil Gavaskar Pointing to Kohli’s early drop as the decisive turning point, analyzed the pivotal moment in RCB’s successful chase.“Virat Kohli’s dropped catch off Siraj’s bowling certainly cost the Gujarat Titans dearly,” Gavaskar said.“We all know that he is not only known as a king, he is also known as a chess master,” commented Gavaskar.“You drop him on the first ball, then he will make you pay. That’s exactly what he did,” he said.He added that Kohli’s reputation is one of the best chasers in the game. “Chasing big totals with ease has been Virat’s trademark batting style throughout his career,” Gavaskar said.The former Indian captain also suggested that GT might regret the missed opportunity given the circumstances of the match. He observed, “At one point … the ball was a bit of a grip. Once the ball got a bit bigger, it wasn’t so easy.”
Concluding his analysis, Gavaskar praised Kohli’s consistency and class under pressure. “The guy is one of the greatest players in the game. He made it look easy,” he said.Gavaskar also praised Devdutt Padikal for his improvement in IPL 2026, especially his wide range of scoring options that have strengthened RCB’s top order.“Devdutt Padikal played a great innings. Virat Kohli rightly pointed out after the match that Padikal hit some very clean shots. Earlier, he was seen as an offside player. His main areas of scoring were cover and mid-off. He struggled on the onside. But now he has crossed that line.”Gavaskar added, “He is also hitting sixes and fours behind square. This adds to RCB’s batting power. Among them, Dev Dutt is at the third position and Captain Rajat Patidar is at the fourth position. Both can hit sixes from the first ball. It is making a big difference for RCB right now.”Chasing 206, RCB suffered an early blow as GT pacer Mohammad Siraj dismissed opener Jacob Bethel to take them to 26/1 in three overs. However, the top order reacted strongly. Kohli led the charge with a fluent 81 off 44 balls, while Pedicel supported him brilliantly with a blistering 55 off 27 balls.The duo made sure to keep the required rate in check, putting on 115 runs together in just 59 balls.After their successive dismissals, the match became tight in the middle overs as Rashid Khan and Manav Sattar picked up crucial wickets, leaving RCB at 175/5 after 16 overs.RCB then faltered briefly with the dismissals of Rajat Patidar (8) and Jitesh Sharma (10), and needed 31 runs from the last four overs. But Krunal Pandya (23 unbeaten at 12) stepped up under pressure to turn the game around.Krunel countered the GT attack, scoring 15 runs in the 18th over to decisively speed RCB’s way, while Tim David made an unbeaten 10 off 9 balls.He completed the chase in the 19th over, guiding a short ball from Jason Holder to deep square leg for a single as RCB reached 206/5 in 18.5 overs, sealing a five-wicket win and two crucial points.With the win, RCB moved to the second spot in the IPL 2026 table with 10 points from seven matches, with five wins and two losses.
