IPL 2026 To Begin Today: All Eyes On Kohli As Ishan Kishan Faces Captaincy Test

New Delhi: IPL 2026 is starting from today and the first match itself is such that it increases the heartbeats. RCB will begin the IPL as defending champions, a first in team history. Bengaluru's M. Chinnaswamy Stadium will witness it today when RCB, who were celebrating last year's victory, once again take the field. But there is another emotional aspect to this match as well.

Last June, 11 people lost their lives in a stampede during RCB's victory celebrations, after which questions were raised about Chinnaswamy Stadium. The Karnataka government, after much investigation, gave permission to the stadium to host IPL matches. Today is not just a day of cricket but also a symbol of a new beginning. This is the second time when RCB and SRH will face each other in the first match of IPL. Earlier, the same had happened in 2017, when SRH were champions and RCB were runners-up.

Who is in charge of SRH this time?

SRH's regular captain Pat Cummins is injured, so Ishan Kishan has been given the responsibility of captaincy in this match. India's Ishan Kishan recently won the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy for Jharkhand; now IPL captaincy is the new stage of his career. Captaining against a team like RCB in the very first match is no less than a litmus test.

Which players will everyone keep an eye on?

Kohli needs just 29 more runs to reach his milestone, after which he will overtake Shoaib Malik on the list of overall run-scorers in T20. In the last 10 matches, Kohli has an average of 58.88 and a strike rate of 144.47, while Phil Salt has scored 260 runs at a strike rate of 173.33.

For SRH, Abhishek Sharma has scored 406 runs in the last 10 matches at a strike rate of 200. That means if he continues, it will be a difficult night for the bowlers. This match could also be historic for Bhuvneshwar Kumar just 2 more wickets, and he will touch the milestone of 200 wickets in IPL. He is already second on the list of all-time wicket takers of IPL. 

What is the real weakness of RCB's bowling?

This is the question that is troubling everyone. Josh Hazlewood was the star seamer of IPL 2025, but he reached Bengaluru on Thursday night and will be out of this match. Apart from this, Sri Lanka Cricket has refused to give NOC to Nuwan Thushara due to failing in the fitness test. Thushara's next match against CSK on April 5 is also in jeopardy. 

That means there is a big question mark on RCB's pace bowling today.

What will be the condition of the pitch and weather?

Chinnaswamy has had an average first innings score of 194 in T20 matches in the last three seasons. There has been no match on this ground for about 10 months, so both the teams will be a little cautious. The weather is expected to be clear, the temperature will be around 25-28 degrees.

What are the possible playing XIs of both the teams?

• RCB: Phil Salt, Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar (captain), Jacob Bethell, Tim David, Jitesh Sharma (wicketkeeper), Krunal Pandya, Romario Shepherd, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mangesh Yadav.
• SRH: Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan (captain and wicketkeeper), Heinrich Klaasen, Liam Livingstone, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Aniket Verma, Harshal Patel, Jaydev Unadkat, Harsh Dubey, Zeeshan Ansari.

Who will win today?

According to Google predictor, RCB has 54% chance of winning and SRH has 46% chance of winning. India Home ground, the spirit of champions, and a batsman like Kohli—RCB has it all. But SRH's batting lineup is adept at chasing any score.

There was a thrilling match of 287 vs 262 between these two teams in IPL 2024. expects something similar to happen today also. This much is certain: only runs will rain for Chinnaswamy tonight.