All posts tagged: royal challengers bangalore

How Bhuvneshwar Kumar became the bowler no one can read | Cricket News

How Bhuvneshwar Kumar became the bowler no one can read | Cricket News

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Sachin Tendulkar had been watching carefully. Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s seam, he noticed, was no longer pointing anywhere in particular. Not towards slip for the outswinger, not towards leg slip for the inswinger. When the ball landed, it could go either way. The batsman’s only information arrived after the ball had already moved. “He’s right,” Bhuvneshwar says, when asked about Sachin. “And who can observe better than him?” This is June 2026. Sachin has just been analysing Bhuvneshwar’s wobble seam on social media. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, 15 years old, has just broken Sachin’s 36-year record as the youngest player selected for the Indian senior team, after finishing IPL 2026 as its highest run-scorer. The boy Bhuvneshwar bowled with a knuckleball in 2025 is now the most discussed cricketer in the world. And here is Bhuvneshwar, 36, the only man to win consecutive IPL Purple Caps. ***The truth, as best as Bhuvneshwar can reconstruct it, begins somewhere around the age of 14 or 15, with a bowling action that went wrong. He had come to the game late, by …

Virat Kohli’s warm gesture for Vaibhav Sooryavanshi as veteran meets teen-wonder after IPL victory

Virat Kohli’s warm gesture for Vaibhav Sooryavanshi as veteran meets teen-wonder after IPL victory

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3 min readJun 1, 2026 12:41 PM IST Virat Kohli won 18 years to win an Indian Premier League (IPL) title with Royal Challengers Bengaluru, and then, he suddenly won two in a row, hitting the winning runs with a six for the second one. Usually, that would be the biggest story at the end of an IPL season but this year, even an event like this can only share space with Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. The 15-year-old has been lauded by one and all this season and on Sunday evening, he could be seen having a long chat with Kohli. Kohli could be seen putting his arms around Sooryavanshi before seemingly sharing some words of wisdom with the teenager. Kohli’s decorated senior career started a few years before Sooryavanshi was even born. On Sunday, Kohli finished unbeaten on 75 off 42 balls and thus led RCB to a five-wicket win over Gujarat Titans. RCB have thus become just the third team after Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians to have won the IPL two years in …

From being trolled to celebrated: Virat Kohli fans rally around ‘lucky charm’ Anushka Sharma after RCB’s IPL triumph

From being trolled to celebrated: Virat Kohli fans rally around ‘lucky charm’ Anushka Sharma after RCB’s IPL triumph

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Even before they were married, actor Anushka Sharma would be a constant presence at the matches of the Indian cricket team and Royal Challengers Bangalore, supporting her then-boyfriend Virat Kohli from the stands. However, whenever Virat failed to perform (which was rare in those days), Anushka found herself facing intense trolling and being branded ‘unlucky’ for Virat. It was interesting to note how the tables have turned now as the same Anushka is being labelled Virat and RCB’s lucky charm as the IPL franchise lifts their second successive Indian Premier League title. Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma with the IPL trophy after RCB won the Indian Premier League 2026 Final against Gujarat Titans at Narendra Modi Stadium, in Ahmedabad on Sunday. (ANI Photo) (ANI Pic Service) Virat takes RCB to second IPL title, celebrates with Anushka On Sunday evening, RCB defeated Shubman Gill’s Gujarat Titans in a largely one-sided final at Ahmedabad. Virat, 37, was the top scorer in his side’s successful chase and took home the Player of the Match award. As he scored …

IPL Rollercoaster: Hazlewood’s counterpunch, Unsung Rasikh & King Kohli on a kill | Cricket News

IPL Rollercoaster: Hazlewood’s counterpunch, Unsung Rasikh & King Kohli on a kill | Cricket News

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Virat Kohli shed tears of joy when RCB won their maiden IPL title last year; this year he just broke into a satisfied smile. There was physical pain, but not mental agony, no cathartic release but simply the joy of retaining the crown. Last season, Kohli was prancing up and down the pitch, chewing his nails and pulling his hair out in tension when RCB defended 190 by mere six runs. This time, he knew fate was in his hands. The chase came with an odd stutter but Kohli’s belief was unwavering. He wrapped up the chase with a swirled six over long-on. Post match, that same night last May, he choked for words. This time, it was just like another night. He admitted: “I said it doesn’t feel like there’s the same pressure as we had last year. We topped the table and said we’re the best if we execute our plans. Just the skill-set, composure and maturity we had shown.” – Sandip G Xxx Punch, counterpunch Shubman Gill inflicted the first blow on …

Virat Kohli scores his fastest IPL half-century in final

Virat Kohli scores his fastest IPL half-century in final

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2 min readUpdated: May 31, 2026 11:03 PM IST Virat Kohli has scored his fastest Indian Premier League half-century in the 2026 final against the Gujarat Titans. He got to the landmark from 25 deliveries. His earlier best was in 26 balls against the Rajasthan Royals in 2018. Earlier, defending champions closed in on their second consecutive IPL title after bowlers exploited a slow pitch to perfection, restricting a lethargic Gujarat Titans to a sub-par 155 for eight. Shot-making was not exactly an easy proposition on the pitch No. 6 at the Narendra Modi stadium, a mix of red and black soil, and it aptly reflected in the GT batting. Washington Sundar resisted the trend with an unbeaten 50 (37b, 5×4), but the damage around him was far too big to mitigate. The fatigue of playing Qualifier 2 on Friday and a delayed departure because of inclement weather at Mullanpur also might have added to their list of woes. But none of that should not take any credit away from the RCB bowlers who more …

As Virat Kohli looks to avoid hat-trick of ducks, Shane Watson hoping he goes for a big shot early again vs KKR

As Virat Kohli looks to avoid hat-trick of ducks, Shane Watson hoping he goes for a big shot early again vs KKR

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2 min readMay 13, 2026 10:29 AM IST Virat Kohli had been consistently among the runs for much of the 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL) season until the last couple of matches, in which the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) veteran fell for ducks. He first fell for a two-ball duck in RCB’s match against Lucknow Super Giants and then for a golden duck in Raipur against Mumbai Indians. Now, RCB are set to face Kolkata Knight Riders in their second home match in Raipur and Kohli is hoping to avoid a hat-trick of ducks. Naturally, KKR’s assistant coach Shane Watson is hoping for the opposite. “Every team has plans against Virat Kohli because he’s one of the best players in the world. But the challenge is that he knows exactly how to counter those plans as well,” Watson told reporters on the eve of the match. “We’re hoping he might play an aggressive shot early like he did in the last game, although the chances of that are probably remote because Virat is so disciplined. …

Dinesh Karthik on why he ranks RCB’s IPL win ‘right up there’ with 2007 T20 World Cup triumph | Cricket News

Dinesh Karthik on why he ranks RCB’s IPL win ‘right up there’ with 2007 T20 World Cup triumph | Cricket News

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4 min readMay 5, 2026 02:56 PM IST Just under a year after lifting the IPL title with Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Dinesh Karthik has admitted the win sits right at the top of his career achievements along with winning the 2007 T20 World Cup with India. The 40-year-old also said that he ranks this IPL victory slightly above the won that he had won with the Mumbai Indians in 2013. Speaking about the emotional weight of the triumph, the 40-year-old said the RCB title “just pips” the 2013 win because of the long wait and the connection with the fans. “A few days ago, somebody asked me what my highlight in a cricketing career was,” Karthik said on the RCB Podcast. “Obviously, the World Cup I was part of is right up there, but the RCB win was also right up there.” “An MI win as a player was a great one too, but the RCB win just pips it because of the fact that we waited 18 years for it. It’s a long wait. …

Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar reduce Delhi to IPL’s lowest powerplay score — and Kohli steals the show anyway | Cricket News

Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar reduce Delhi to IPL’s lowest powerplay score — and Kohli steals the show anyway | Cricket News

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4 min readUpdated: Apr 27, 2026 11:31 PM IST Synopsis: Delhi Capitals batters meekly surrender in stunning opening spell from Josh Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar Kumar as Royal Challengers Bengaluru cantered to an nine-wicket win in a low run-chase. Ask a Delhiite who their favourite cricketer is and prepare for a lookalike — conical beard, studs and tattoos — to burst into an RCB chant. Virat Kohli’s presence looms so large over this fixture that it needed something truly special to steal the spotlight away from him as Royal Challengers Bengaluru made their way to the Feroz Shah Kotla on Monday. A sensational new-ball spell from Josh Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and some dire batting from Delhi Capitals’ top order, would do exactly that. The two pacers reduced the home side to the lowest-ever powerplay score in the IPL — 13 for 6 — and ended the prospects of this match being any kind of contest then and there. AS IT HAPPENED | DC VS RCB RCB cantered to an eight-wicket win, taking only 39 balls …

Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal fire RCB to five-wicket win over GT in Chinnaswamy farewell | Cricket News

Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal fire RCB to five-wicket win over GT in Chinnaswamy farewell | Cricket News

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Synopsis: Kohli-Padikkal duet blasts out Sudharsan’s symphony as RCB beat GT by five wickets. Overhauling two hundred plus totals has lost its novelty in the league. But seldom has it looked so frictionless, as when Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal produced fireworks that backboned Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s predatory hunting down of Gujarat Titans’ 205 by five wickets and seven balls to spare, laying to waste Sai Sudharsan’s gorgeous hundred. The defending champions are putting on a strong title defence bid. Midway through their match-winning, thrill-a-ball stand, Virat Kohli took the backseat and decided to be the backing vocals. He gestured at his younger partner, Padikkal, to continue strumming the head-banging notes. Padikkal batted like a possessed drummer. Transfixed, the crowd were jiving and heaving to the soulful tunes composed in the middle. Padikkal was in a vengeful mood, as though he nursed a grudge against the Titans’ bowlers, all proven performers in sinister rhythm. The most stupendous stroke of his was a flat, lofted off-drive beyond the fence off an erratic Prasidh Krishna. Among the …

‘Dosa, idli’ track at RCB home ground not in good taste: CSK writes to BCCI | Cricket News

‘Dosa, idli’ track at RCB home ground not in good taste: CSK writes to BCCI | Cricket News

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3 min readChennaiApr 16, 2026 04:30 AM IST Indian Premier League franchise Chennai Super Kings has complained to the BCCI over the DJ’s choice of song and comments at their April 5 away game against Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. According to the CSK, the playing of the track ‘Dosa, idli, sambar, chutney, chutney’ — a popular background score to memes about South Indian stereotypes — before their innings was not in good taste. Confirming the development, a top IPL official said the governing council would look into the matter. “We have received a complaint from CSK and are looking into it,” the official said. CSK managing director Kasi Viswanathan told The Indian Express: “The DJs are usually around to support the home team. But at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, it was different. Certain comments were made against our players. Considering it, we have written to the BCCI to have a look into it.” The song, originally composed by musician Gana Appu, has a history and often gets mentioned during CSK-RCB …