Virat Kohli gave Royal Challengers Bengaluru a bright start against Gujarat Titans in their IPL 2026 match on Thursday, but he couldn’t convert momentum into a long stay at the crease. The opener made just one run from his first two deliveries before taking on GT pacer Kagiso Rabada with real intent. Kohli sent the bowler for a burst of boundaries, yet Rabada struck again in the very next over to swing the contest back to GT’s side.
At a glance
- Kohli started cautiously, scoring 1 run off his first two balls.
- He struck five consecutive fours off Rabada in the second over.
- He was dismissed in Rabada’s next over.
- Gujarat Titans bundled out RCB for 155.
- Rabada finished with 1/38 and Arshad Khan returned 3/22.
Kohli’s timing looked sharp early in the RCB innings. In the second over, he smashed Rabada for five straight boundaries, effectively turning the powerplay phase into a personal highlight reel. At the end of that over, Kohli had moved to 21 runs, showing that the matchup had tilted in Bengaluru’s favour—at least temporarily.
But Rabada responded with a sharper plan as the innings progressed. The pacer began with a wide, then followed it with a dot ball to Kohli. From there, he delivered a quicker short ball around middle and leg, forcing the batter into an angled attempt across the line. Kohli went for it, got a top edge, and the catch was taken safely by the fielder at mid-wicket.
Rabada’s celebration was visible and intense, full of emotion as he lifted the pressure. He didn’t trade words with Kohli, but the silent stare made it clear how much that breakthrough meant. The match-up had already been a spectacle—Rabada had been hammered for five fours in a row earlier—but after the wicket, his aggression looked like it had returned with force.
After the dismissal, the contest shifted quickly toward GT’s discipline. Even though Kohli had been “burned out” by that earlier boundary streak, Rabada’s next-over strike changed the direction of the innings. It also set the tone for a middle-overs phase where RCB lost wickets in clusters.
Coming back to the venue where Gujarat Titans had lifted the title last season, RCB were cruising at a rate above 10. Kohli’s 21-run opening over against Rabada, including the five consecutive fours, helped Bengaluru look in control for a stretch. Still, the innings didn’t stay steady for long once GT reasserted control with their strike options.
Skipper Shubman Gill backed Rabada with the ball again, and that decision paid off. Rabada struck to remove Kohli for 28 off 13 balls, and the dismissal triggered a slide as RCB began losing wickets back-to-back. From a position of 71/2 after seven overs, Bengaluru’s total slipped to 96/6 by 10.3 overs.
During that downturn, RCB lost Rajat Patidar for 19, Jitesh Sharma for 1, Tim David for 9, and Krunal Pandya for 4. The tail couldn’t slow the collapse for long, and Arshad Khan stepped in to finish the job, claiming 3/22 with his spell. The scoreboard kept moving against RCB as wickets fell and momentum drained away.
Even after the collapse began, Bengaluru stuck with their attacking approach rather than turning cautious. Their intent seemed aimed at denying GT a clean run of boundaries and pushing for extra runs late in the innings. Still, the target remained out of reach as RCB were eventually bowled out for 155 in 19.2 overs.
