RCB continued their winning streak even after the IPL 2025 Final as they secured a win in the 2026 IPL’s inaugural match against SRH. They had to chase a massive score of 201 in twenty overs, but they surprised their fans in the home ground as they chased the score within just 16 overs. The chase was made smooth by a quick 60-run knock by their home boy Devdutt Padikkal and their veteran player Virat Kohli.
Following the match, a video was posted on X (Formerly Twitter) in which Salt was seen praising their head coach, Dinesh Karthik, during the practise match. Salt told DK that he is the best thing that has happened to RCB and that this is the best bit of training he has had in a long time. He appreciated Karthik’s care for the team and told him there was no sarcasm in what he was saying.
Dinesh Karthik joined the RCB management as their head coach ahead of their auction in 2025, where he promised the Bengaluru fans that he would get them the trophy that year. Along with the management, DK managed to secure a match-winning core for the team, where everyone contributed at different intervals. This resulted in RCB securing their first tournament title after 18 years, in 2025, at the Ahmedabad Stadium.
The 25-player squad has been a little shaken up due to retentions ahead of the 2026 auction, but they brought in a younger team to groom them to win the matches. Their efforts bore fruit as they secured their first win in a 2026 IPL match against SRH in just 15.4 overs.
The Southern derby clash on April 5
The Challengers would now face the Chennai Super Kings in the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium at Bengaluru. CSK are coming into this match with a humiliating loss against the Rajasthan Royals. With so many injuries surrounding the squad and MS Dhoni’s absence, the team is looking a little rattled, and all the pressure would now be on the shoulders of the skipper, Ruturaj Gaikwad. It would be an assessment of the entire management and the squad on how they will fill in Dhoni's absence in the matches.
