IPL: Virat Kohli hits rapid 29, Tim David, Venkatesh Iyer bat well in RCB practice
India Today
Royal Challengers Bengaluru held their first practice game on Sunday, March 22, ahead of the Indian Premier League 2026 season. Their batters came off the blocks quickly and batted with aggressive intent.
Virat Kohli, Jitesh Sharma, Tim David, and Venkatesh Iyer were on song in Royal Challengers Bengaluru's first practice game at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on Sunday, March 22. Divided into two teams, captained by Krunal Pandya and Venkatesh Iyer, the batters had a good outing as they participated in a friendly game ahead of RCB's opener against Sunrisers Hyderabad on March 28.
The defending champions will play the opening match of the Indian Premier League 2026 season, hoping to begin their title defence on a positive note. The members of the squad have assembled in Bengaluru and have already begun their preparations in full flow.
RCB posted a video of their practice session on social media on Monday morning, capturing key moments from the game. In the video, all-rounder Krunal Pandya shared his takeaways, stating that several batters in the team looked in great touch on Sunday.
"It was a good practice game. Everyone had a good hit. Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowled really well, Abhinandan (Singh) bowled really well, Mangesh (Yadav) bowled really well. Among the batters, Jitesh played really well — some of his shots were amazing. Tim David played really well. Venkatesh and Virat batted well. The intent shown and some of the shots from Virat were amazing today. He is looking good, which is a great sign for us," Krunal Pandya said.
’ : -Jitesh, Rajat, Devdutt and KP amongst the runs, exciting cameos from Virat, Venky and TD, and some promising spells to sum up an exciting practice game.Watch how it all pic.twitter.com/SAaT2kPNox— Royal Challengers Bengaluru (@RCBTweets) March 23, 2026
Jitesh Sharma was the standout batter, smashing 81 runs off just 37 balls. He is expected to shoulder the finisher’s role once again and will be hoping for a stronger campaign with the bat this season.
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