Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) defeated Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by 6 wickets in the 56th match of the IPL 2026. The Player of the Match was Virat Kohli, who slammed his 9th century, once again steering his side to a successful chase in the tournament. After playing this massive knock of 106, Kohli, who is retired from all forms of cricket except ODIs and IPL, might have given a hint on his potential end to all forms of the game.

Speaking to Ian Bishop after winning the Player of the Match vs KKR, Virat Kohli said that he loves batting and it was an hnour to be competing at the highest level. He always gives his heart and ould because he knows that one all of this is going to be over.

"I just love batting, even after all this. That is my core feeling. What an honour to be competing at this level and against the very best still. I just give my heart and soul out there because it is going to finish one day. I want to make the most of it and look forward to pressure situations, where I am feeling a bit of heat and then I challenge myself to just go for it. Sport teaches you a lot as a person. You build your character,"Virat Kohlisaid.

In a rain-affected game in Raipur, the match was delayed by 75 minutes, but no overs were lost. It was RCB who won the toss and put KKR to bat first. They got off to a shaky start as they lost both openers Finn Allen and Ajinkya Rahane in the powerplay itself.

However, after that the three-time IPL champions stabilized their innings, with a solid 68-run stand for the third wicket between Angkrish Raghuvanshi and Cameron Green. After Green departed for 32, Rinku Singh joined in the act, and stitched a 76-run stand for the fourth wicket with Raghuvanshi. Rinku remained not out on 49.

However, the star with the bat was Raghuvanshi, who slammed 71 from 46 deliveries. KKR put a competitive total of 192/4 on the board.

Chasing 193 to win, RCB never really had any difficulty, as Virat Kohli played yet another memorable knock guiding the defending champions to victory with 5 balls to spare. The star India batter slammed his 9th century in the IPL, as he hit 105 from 60 deliveries. He also stitched a game-changing 92-run stand for the second wicket with Devdutt Padikkal.

As RCB won by 6 wickets, they climbed to the top of the IPL 2026 points table with 16 points, and more or less sealed their spot of the IPL 2026 playoffs.

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Shaunak Ghosh is a Senior Sports Correspondent at Timesnownews with over seven years of experience in print and digital journalism. He holds a postgra...View More

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