IPL 2026 warm-up game: Virat Kohli shows intent; Jitesh shines
What's the story
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) stars put on an impressive show in their first practice match at M Chinnaswamy Stadium, their home ground, on Sunday. The friendly game was played ahead of RCB's opening IPL 2026 match against Sunrisers Hyderabad, starting March 28. The Royal Challengers are gearing up for another season with hopes of a strong title defense.
Match highlights
Krunal lauds the batting display
RCB shared a video of their practice session on social media, showing the key moments from the match. All-rounder Krunal Pandya, who captained one of the teams, said many batters looked in great touch during Sunday's session. He praised Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Abhinandan Singh, and Mangesh Yadav for their bowling performances and highlighted Jitesh Sharma's explosive batting display as well.
Player spotlight
Jitesh among other batters leave mark
Jitesh was the star of the match, scoring an impressive 81 runs off 37 balls. He is expected to take on the finisher's role again this season. Along with Jitesh, Australia's Tim David (36 off 14 balls) and Indian all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer (30 off 16 balls) also put up impressive batting displays. Krunal also highlighted Virat Kohli's quickfire innings of 29 off 12 balls.
Twitter Post
WATCH: Highlights of the match
𝗥𝗖𝗕’𝘀 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗪𝗮𝗿𝗺 𝗨𝗽 𝗚𝗮𝗺𝗲: 𝘈 𝘳𝘶𝘯-𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘢𝘴𝘸𝘢𝘮𝘺 🤩❤️🔥
— Royal Challengers Bengaluru (@RCBTweets) March 23, 2026
Jitesh, Rajat, Devdutt and KP amongst the runs, exciting cameos from Virat, Venky and TD, and some promising spells to sum up an exciting practice game. 🔥
Watch how it all… pic.twitter.com/SAaT2kPNox
Team focus
Can RCB defend their title?
As mentioned, RCB will enter IPL 2026 as the defending champions. The Rajat Patidar-led side ended their 18-year title drought by winning their maiden IPL title in 2025. The team's batting department features big guns like Virat Kohli, Philip Salt, Jitesh Sharma, Patidar, and Jacob Bethell, among others. Despite Josh Hazlewood's initial absence, RCB have enough bench strength to field a solid attack. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jacob Duffy, and Krunal Pandya are the key names in the bowling department.