India, March 27 -- Virat Kohli finally got his hands on the Indian Premier League trophy last season and will now start his title defence with RCB in the IPL 2026 season opener. RCB face SRH in the season opener in Bengaluru on Saturday. RCB would have hoped for more swag and pomp ahead of their opener. But then the atmosphere is tense as the memory of 11 fans who lost their lives in the June 4 stampede outside the stadium still dominates the lead-up to the game.

Against SRH in 24 innings, Kohli has managed 805 runs at an average of 36.59 and a 141.97 strike rate. He has also smacked five fifties and a ton against them, but has also been dismissed for three ducks. In the 2022 season, Kohli was dismissed back-to-back golden ducks vs SRH. ...