Veteran virat kohli

Impact Player Jacob Bethell: Veteran Virat Kohli (81) and Devdutt Padikkal (55) led a strong charge as Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) surged to a five-wicket victory over the Gujarat Titans (GT) in Match 34 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Friday.

RCB’s reply got a lucky break early on when Kohli, trying his signature flick off Mohammed Siraj, hit it too high and was dropped by Washington Sundar at short midwicket. This mistake proved costly. Kohli quickly found his rhythm, while Impact Player Jacob Bethell had a brief moment of luck before he edged one to backward point and fell to Kagiso Rabada.

Padikkal wasted no time making an impact. He took on Rabada’s pace, which was clocked at 153.6 kph, hitting a six over deep square leg. He then punished Siraj for his mistakes with boundaries and a lofted six over extra cover. Kohli joined in soon after, stepping down the track against Rabada and scoring his 800th IPL four, becoming the first batter to hit this milestone.