India, March 29 -- Virat Kohli might have been the headline act of Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) win over Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 opener at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday, but one has to tip his hat to Devdutt Padikkal, who walked out to bat at No.3 for the franchise in the chase of 202. After the early loss of Phil Salt in just the second over, Padikkal, the left-hander, walked out, and one expected him to take a few balls before going big inside the powerplay. However, the 25-year-old made full use of his good form, as he continued from where he left off in the Ranji Trophy and Vijay Hazare Trophy.

Padikkal went after Jaydev Unadkat, Nitish Kumar Reddy and David Payne right from th...