Kohli fires Bengaluru to big win after IPL remembers stampede dead
The fans were honoured with 11 empty seats and a minute's silence ahead of the game, while the players wore black armbands at Bengaluru's M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.
Bengaluru won their first IPL title in 18 attempts in the 2025 edition, but a victory parade turned tragic outside their stadium.
On Saturday, a big crowd welcomed the home team with the loudest roar reserved for Kohli, who steered the team's successful chase of 202 in just 15.4 overs.
Kohli, who plays just the 50-over format for India after retiring from Test and T20 internationals, hit five fours and five sixes in his 38-ball knock.
"Whenever I come back to play, it's 120 percent. I'm not coming back underprepared, in fact, the extra rest helps me mentally freshen up," Kohli said.
"And as long as you're physically fit and mentally excited, both those things come together nicely. You don't want to just hold on to a spot; you want to keep performing and keep putting in the work for the team."
Hyderabad posted 201-9 after being put in to bat first as stand-in-skipper Ishan Kishan top-scored with 80 from 38 balls, with eight fours and five sixes.
New Zealand's RCB import Jacob Duffy made an instant impact on his IPL debut to return figures of 3-22 from his four overs.
Duffy rattled the top-order, taking the key wickets of openers Abhishek Sharma (7) and Travis Head (11).
Kishan steadied the innings in a fourth-wicket partnership of 97 with South Africa's Heinrich Klaasen, who made 31.
England's Phil Salt took a stunning one-handed catch in the deep after covering lot of ground to dismiss Kishan off Abhinandan Singh.
Bengaluru lost opener Salt, for eight, early in the chase but impact substitute Devdutt Padikkal hit a string of boundaries in his 26-ball 61.
Padikkal put on 101 runs with Kohli, who hit some excellent shots including a straight six that hit the sight screen.
He finished the game with a six and three fours in successive balls to launch RCB's title defence in style.
"We'll be a little more cautious with the bowling, areas where we need to execute, and we might be stronger from the next game," said Kishan.
Kishan is leading Hyderabad in place of Australia's Pat Cummins, who is recovering from a back injury and is expected to play later in the tournament.