New Delhi: It was a night of dominance, emotion and a touch of romance. Virat Kohli IPL 2026 opener lit up – both with the bat and heartwarming gesture to wife Anushka Sharma.Go beyond limits with our YouTube channel. Subscribe now!After Royal Challengers Bengaluru beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by six wickets, Kohli turned to the stands and blew Anushka a flying kiss. The Bollywood star, seated alongside the RCB women’s players, including captain Smriti Mandhana, responded with a flying kiss and a smile of her own as the crowd erupted in cheers.
The brief exchange quickly went viral, becoming one of the defining images of the season opener and adding a personal touch to an already electric evening at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.Look:
Kohli, Clinical follow-up of pedicle power RCB
Kohli showed his enduring class with an unbeaten 69 off 38 balls, with five fours and five sixes, as RCB chased down 202 in just 15.4 overs.Reflecting on his return to T20 cricket after a long break, Kohli said, “Every time I come back to play, it’s 120 per cent.” I’m not coming back less prepared, in fact the extra rest helps me mentally refresh.“You don’t just want to stay in one place; you want to keep performing and keep working for the team,” he added.Impact substitute Dev Dutt Padikal set the tone with a 26-ball 61, while Rajat Patidar Added with Quickfire 31, ensuring that the chase was wrapped up with ease.Cushion shines but SRH falls short.Put into bat, SRH rode on a scintillating 80 from the stand-in skipper Ishan Kishan And late on from Aniket Verma (43 in 18) to post 201/9.Despite the strong total, their bowling attack struggled to contain RCB’s aggressive batting. Kishan admitted after the match.RCB’s win also came on an emotional night, with players wearing black armbands and observing a minute’s silence in memory of fans lost in last year’s tragic stampede.
