IPL 2026 points table: RCB start title defence with win, climb to top of table

The IPL 2026 season got underway in emphatic fashion as Royal Challengers Bengaluru opened their campaign with a commanding six-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday, climbing to the top of the points table.

Virat Kohli led from the front in the 202-run chase, setting the tone early alongside local favourite Devdutt Padikkal. The pair ensured the required rate stayed firmly in control as RCB surged to 76/1 in the powerplay before sealing the chase comfortably in just 15.4 overs.

Earlier, after being put in to bat, SRH slipped to 29/3 inside the powerplay, with IPL debutant Jacob Duffy striking three times. A resilient stand between stand-in skipper Ishan Kishan and Heinrich Klaasen, supported by late-order contributions, helped the visitors recover to 201/9.

POS	TEAM	P	W	L	NR	NRR	FOR	AGAINST	PTS	RECENT FORM
1	RCB	1	1	0	0	2.907	203/15.4	201/20.0	2	W
2	SRH	1	0	1	0	-2.907	201/20.0	203/15.4	0	L
3	CSK	0	0	0	0	0.000	0/0	0/0	0	—
4	DC	0	0	0	0	0.000	0/0	0/0	0	—
5	GT	0	0	0	0	0.000	0/0	0/0	0	—
6	KKR	0	0	0	0	0.000	0/0	0/0	0	—
7	LSG	0	0	0	0	0.000	0/0	0/0	0	—
8	MI	0	0	0	0	0.000	0/0	0/0	0	—
9	PBKS	0	0	0	0	0.000	0/0	0/0	0	—
10	RR	0	0	0	0	0.000	0/0	0/0	0	—