RCB vs KKR IPL 2026 Highlights: Historic Virat Kohli ton powers RCB to 6-wicket win, top of the table

RCB vs KKR IPL 2026 LIVE Score

RCB vs KKR IPL 2026 Highlights: There was more than an hour delay to the start of the game, and the Raipur crowd waited patiently amid the heavy rain. But late into Tuesday evening, the spectators got served with something special. Virat Kohli struggled in both his previous two innings, getting dismissed for successive ducks, but today, he bounced back with another extraordinary show, carving out an unbeaten 105 to help the Royal Challengers Bengaluru beat the Kolkata Knight Riders by six wickets.

This was Kohli's 10th career T20 century - the most-ever by an Indian - and a record-extending ninth in the IPL. It was also his third hundred in a chasing cause, the joint-most alongside Jos Buttler.

RCB never looked unsettled at any point in the chase of 193 in Raipur. Kohli got things underway after celebrating his first single as he smashed 4 fours off Vaibhav Arora. He got his fifty in 32 balls and then forged a match-winning 92-run stand with Devdutt Padikkal, before completing his century.

RCB now surged back to the top of the table again, with one foot in the playoffs, while KKR's chances reduced significantly as they remain in the eighth spot.

Earlier in the game, Kolkata Knight Riders looked well on course for a 200-plus total after a stunning show from Cameron Green, Rinku Singh and Angkrish Raghuvanshi in the middle-overs. But excellent bowling from the RCB pacers in the death overs saw KKR being restricted to 192 for four. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, and Rasikh Dar were great with their yorker deliveries. The only time one missed the length, Rinku punished it for a six. The KKR vice-captain ended with 49 not out, while Raghuvanshi was run out off the last ball for 71 off 46 balls.

Earlier in the game, which witnessed a delayed start by over an hour owing to the rain in Raipur, Bhuvneshwar and Hazelwood were on point with the new ball, sending back both the KKR openers early to the pavilion. But Jacob Duffy went for big runs across the four overs he bowled. He conceded 31 runs in the powerplay itself. After the first six overs, RCB managed to keep KKR under check, conceding just 20 runs in three overs, before Raghuvanshi upped the ante and eventually carved out his highest-ever knock in his IPL career.

At the halfway mark in the season, the IPL 2026 points table drew a distinct line between the team that are certain to qualify, the challengers, and the weaklings. Royal Challengers Bengaluru were part of the first category. With six wins in their first eight games, they looked like a team to beat and stood well on verge to make the playoff, before two successive defeats complicated the equation. The crisis nearly deepened if it wasn't for that miraculous six from Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the last-over thriller against the Mumbai Indians last week, that saw them bounce back into contention for the playoff.