Royal Challengers Bengaluru star batter Virat Kohli was on top of his game during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 opener against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Saturday. The chase master scored 69 not out off 38 balls as RCB hunted down a target of 202 in just 15.4 overs. Kohli’s knock was laced with five fours and as many sixes. His innings kept RCB in the driving seat and eventually guided them home comfortably. After hitting the winning boundary, Kohli shared a flying kiss with his wife and Bollywood actor Anushka Sharma. A video of the heartfelt exchange has been going viral on social media.
Watch here:
i giggled like a kid on my bed watching this pic.twitter.com/T9djofJZJn
— train dreams (@nrcpov) March 28, 2026
Asked if there was a chance of turning up underprepared, given that he had not played T20 cricket for 10 months, Kohli said: “Well, you know, the kind of scheduling that we’ve had over the last 15 years and the amount of cricket I’ve played, for me there was always a risk of getting burnt out rather than being undercooked. So these breaks helped me immensely. I stay fresh, I stay excited.”
The 37-year-old stressed that he never returns to competitive cricket unless he is more than 100 per cent ready.
“Whenever I come back to play, it’s 120%. I’m not coming back, you know, underprepared. In fact, the extra rest helps me to mentally freshen up.” For Kohli, it is important to perform and not just hold on to a place.
“As long as you’re physically fit and you’re mentally excited, all those things come together nicely and then you’re able to contribute to the team’s cause, and that’s what you want to do as a player. You don’t want to hold on to a spot.
“You want to keep performing and keep putting in the work for the team,” he added.
Reflecting on his return to T20 cricket, Kohli said his recent white-ball outings had helped him retain rhythm despite a gap in the shortest format.
“It was good to get back out there. You mentioned T20 cricket – the last game I played was the final last year – but I think the way I batted in the one-day series quite recently really helped me stay in that same kind of momentum.
“I wasn’t playing shots that I don’t usually play, so I knew as long as I had the rhythm and had put enough physical work in behind the scenes with my fitness, things should come together nicely. Tonight was another chance to start strong and build on this,” he said.
(With PTI inputs)