Virat Kohli made a shocking return to T20 cricket as he smashed an unbeaten 69 off just 38 balls to guide Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) to a win over Sunrisers Hyderabad of their IPL 2026 first match. Despite not playing the T20 format for 10 months, Kohli made headlines, scoring five boundaries and five sixes to assist RCB win. Nonetheless, Kohli’s former India teammate Manoj Tiwary applauded him.
“There shall be a minimum of just a little little bit of pressure because he hasn’t played much,” Tiwary said on Cricbuzz, speaking about Kohli. “But he all the time comes with proof of why he’s Virat Kohli. So long as he’s on the crease, there’s all the time belief within the dugout,” Tiwary added.
Meanwhile, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) wicketkeeper-batter Jitesh Sharma has said that the defending champions tag for RCB is “irrelevant” as they give attention to chasing the IPL 2026 title again as well.
Speaking on the pre-match press conference ahead of RCB’s match against Chennai Super Kings (CSK), Sharma said, “Frankly speaking, it’s irrelevant. As our director of cricket, Mo Bobat, said, we usually are not defending, we’re chasing the title. This can be a latest season, we’ve got to begin one game again at a time, but with the arrogance of what we’ve got achieved.”
“Should you ask me personally, I feel it’s a superb thing. Our Indian players are getting yet another probability, so why not? Someone who’s on the bench is getting a possibility, so I’m completely happy for that,” he concluded.
The defending champions, RCB, have began their IPL 2026 campaign on a winning note, where RCB beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by six wickets within the tournament opener as well.
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