The IPL (Indian Premier League) 2026 season kicked off with Royal Challengers Bengaluru taking on Sunrisers Hyderabad. The two sides locked horns at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on March 28. While both sides hoped for a good performance in the clash, it was RCB that registered the victory in the clash.ย
The game began with SRH coming into bat first, and the side posted a total of 201 runs in the first innings. Aiming to chase down the target, it was the performance of Devdutt Padikkal and Virat Kohli that helped the defending champions win the game.ย
After the clash, Sunrisers Hyderabadโs head coach Daniel Vettori came forward and talked about how the knock of Devdutt Padikkal was the turning point in the game.ย
“Padikkal’s innings, I think. Came and hit the first ball for six, striking over 200, taking on all bowlers, allowed Virat to get into his innings, even though he was striking quickly too. The impetus that he showed when he came in was the real difference,” Daniel Vettori said during the post-match press conference.ย
“Maybe a couple of years ago, you think you are safe with 200, but I do think we understand where the game has gone, and how destructive that RCB line-up is. You have to get a good start, which I think we did against Salt. but then, I juts think we were not at our best with the ball, we were not as disciplined as we needed to be. We gave a lot of scoring opportunities to Virat and Padikkal, who played exceptionally well,” he added.
Vettori talked about Jacob Duffyโs performance
Furthermore, Daniel Vettori talked about the performance of Jacob Duffy in the clash. Bowling four overs in the clash, Duffy took three wickets and conceded 22 runs in the process as well.ย
“You don’t want to have a rusty performance because of how important every game is in the IPL, especially at the start. I think we missed our lengths, and Duffy, in particular, showed the length to bowl on that surface,” Vettori said.ย
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