With the start of the Indian Premier League 2026 just days away, preparations are in full swing for all the teams. At the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru played their first warm-up game ahead of their title defence with Virat Kohli looking in good touch with a breezy 29 off 12 balls, while Jitesh Sharma stole the show with a blistering 81 off just 37 deliveries.The teams, led by new recruit Venkatesh Iyer (Team Venky) and Krunal Pandya (Team Krunal), put in a solid outing, and going by the scorecard, it was a run-fest. Batting first, Team Venky posted 234 for seven. Apart from Jitesh and Kohli, Tim David hammered 36 off just 14 balls, while skipper Iyer chipped in with a quickfire 36 off 16.In reply, chasing 235, Devdutt Padikkal – who will be pushing for a spot in the playing XI – struck 63 off 33 balls. Pandya contributed 58 off 33, but it was RCB captain Rajat Patidar who sealed the win for Team Krunal with a stunning 74 off 25 balls.Reflecting on the outing, head coach Andy Flower said, “It is always nice to get out of the nets and into competitive situations, so it was a really productive evening. Some of the highlights were watching guys like Jitesh scoring 80-odd off 35 balls, and Rajat hitting beautiful shots as we know he can.Flower was also impressed by the youngsters particularly Abhinandan Singh, picked by RCB at the IPL 2026 Auction last December. Singh made his mark at the UPT20 league playing for Lucknow Falcons. “Some of the youngsters performed well too. Abhinandan was good with the ball, Rasikh [Dar] bowled well, and it was nice to see Vicky Ostwal and his skill with left-arm spin. So that was a great night’s work for everyone in the squad,” said Flower. Krunal Pandya was happy with how Virat Kohli looked out there in the middle, batting with intent. “Yeah, from batters, I guess Jitesh played really well today. Some of some of the shots were amazing. Tim David played really well. Venkatesh [Iyer] batted well, Virat batted really well you know, coming out and the intent and some of the shots. What Virat played today was amazing, looking good, which is a great sign for us. So fingers crossed!,” he added. RCB will begin their title defence at home at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, with the season opener against their trans-Kaveri rivals, Sunrisers Hyderabad, on March 28.Both teams are dealing with player unavailability. RCB will be without Australian pacer Josh Hazlewood for the initial stages of the tournament.The 2016 champions Hyderabad have named Ishan Kishan as interim captain in the absence of Pat Cummins. They also have injury concerns, with Jack Edwards ruled out of the tournament and uncertainty over Sri Lankan pace recruit Eshan Malinga.
