Royal Challengers Bengaluru star batter Virat Kohli scripted history during the IPL 2026 encounter against Punjab Kings in Dharamsala on Sunday. Kohli added another major accolade to his name as he became the first batter in IPL history to score 5500 runs as an opener for a single franchise. Ahead of the match, he needed just 7 runs to achieve the feat and he reached the milestone with a six off the bowling of Azmatullah Omarzai. Overall, two other batters – Shikhar Dhawan and David Warner – have scored 5500 IPL runs as an opener but both cricketers have done it while playing for multiple franchises.
Punjab Kings captain Shreyas Iyer won the toss in his 100th IPL game as skipper and opted to bowl first.
Punjab made two changes to their playing XI from the last match, bringing in Harpreet Brar and Lockie Ferguson.
Jitesh Sharma, who is leading RCB in this game in the absence of Rajat Patidar, said they have also effected two changes with Suyash Sharma and Romario Shepherd coming in for the side’s regular skipper and Jacob Duffy.
“We would have loved to bowl first, but the wicket is good and should play well for 40 overs. Rajat is doing fantastic and we should see him in Hyderabad. We are at the business end of the tournament, and I’m happy with how the team is performing, both individually and as an unit. Yes, we are very pleased that the team looks so stable right now. We are giving our absolute best in every department. One win tonight secures our spot in the playoffs, so it’s a massive game for us. Every game is important at this stage. This win can change the entire table – not just for us, but for several other teams as well. Suyash replaces Rajat and Romario replaces Duffy,” RCB stand-in skipper Jitesh Sharma said at the toss.
Teams:
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Jacob Bethell, Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Venkatesh Iyer, Jitesh Sharma, Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Suyash Sharma.
Punjab Kings: Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh, Cooper Connolly, Shreyas Iyer, Suryansh Shedge, Shashank Singh, Azmatullah Omarzai, Harpreet Brar, Lockie Ferguson, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal.
(With PTI inputs)
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