Kohli's 81 and Padikkal's 55 Power RCB to 5-Wicket Win Over GT, Team Moves to 2nd on Points Table
Friday night at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium was pure theatre. Gujarat Titans had done everything right in the first innings, posting a challenging total of 205 for 3 on the back of a masterclass from Sai Sudharsan. But Royal Challengers Bengaluru, backed by a roaring home crowd and led by two extraordinary individual performances, hunted down the target with two balls to spare to win by five wickets and climb to 2nd place on the IPL 2026 points table.
GT's innings was defined by Sudharsan's breathtaking century. Opening alongside captain Shubman Gill, Sudharsan was in imperious form from the first ball, dispatching anything slightly loose with trademark timing through the off side. The pair put on 128 runs for the first wicket. When Gill fell to Suyash Sharma, Sudharsan simply continued to dominate, eventually bringing up his hundred off just 58 balls, his third IPL century. He was finally dismissed for exactly 100 by a stunning caught-and-bowled effort from Josh Hazlewood, who reacted with brilliant reflexes to a ball that flew back at him off a powerful drive. Jos Buttler and Washington Sundar added quick runs at the death to take GT to 205 for 3.
RCB's response began at a pace that left the crowd breathless. Devdutt Padikkal looked intent from the first delivery, reaching his half-century in just 20 balls with a series of clean, powerful strokes. Virat Kohli at the other end played the slightly calmer but equally destructive role, bringing up his own fifty off 30 balls and keeping the asking rate well in check. The two put on 119 together to effectively break GT's back in the chase.
Padikkal fell for 55 and Kohli for 81 off 44 balls after Holder found his stumps, and briefly it felt like GT had a sniff with Patidar falling shortly after for just 8. But RCB had enough firepower left, and Tim David and Jitesh Sharma completed the formalities with measured hitting. RCB now sit in 2nd place with a comfortable buffer, and Kohli's consistent brilliance this season is making every RCB fan dream of back-to-back titles.
