A fan, who entered the ground, tries to touch the feet of Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s Virat Kohli during the Indian Premier League match against Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. (PTI)

Royal Challengers Bengaluru secured a commanding victory against Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL 2025 opener, with Virat Kohli leading the chase with an unbeaten 59 off 36 balls. RCB successfully chased down the target of 175 runs in just 16.2 overs.
The evening was marked by special moments, including Shah Rukh Khan dancing with Virat Kohli to a song from ‘Pathaan’ and BCCI honouring Kohli during IPL’s 18th anniversary celebrations. During the match, a fan breached security to meet Kohli, touching his feet before security intervened.
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The match showcased brilliant performances from both teams, with RCB’s bowling attack featuring Krunal Pandya’s 3-29 and Josh Hazlewood’s 2-22 helping restrict KKR to 174/8. The chase was dominated by a strong opening partnership between Phil Salt and Virat Kohli.
Salt and Kohli established a commanding 95-run opening stand. Salt’s aggressive innings of 56 set the tone early in the powerplay, while Kohli maintained his presence until the end.
The chase began with Salt’s cover drive off Vaibhav Arora, followed by Kohli’s flick through mid-wicket. Salt continued his aggressive approach against Spencer Johnson and Arora, scoring consecutive boundaries.
The fourth over proved particularly costly for KKR as Salt attacked Varun Chakaravarthy, scoring 21 runs through a combination of fours and sixes. Kohli then showcased his skills with back-to-back sixes against Johnson.

Salt reached his fifty in 25 balls but fell shortly after to Chakaravarthy, caught at short third man. Devdutt Padikkal’s dismissal followed, caught at deep mid-wicket off Narine’s bowling.
Kohli achieved his 56th IPL fifty in 30 balls with a drive off Harshit Rana. Captain Rajat Patidar displayed excellent form, hitting multiple boundaries before being caught at deep mid-wicket off Arora.
The match concluded with Liam Livingstone’s powerful hitting, including two boundaries, with the final four through mid-on sealing RCB’s convincing victory. The win was achieved with 22 balls remaining, marking a strong start to RCB’s campaign.