Why did Virat Kohli not get the Player of the Match award despite scoring 69 unbeaten runs? who won

Royal Challengers Bangalore has started IPL 2026 with a win. In the first match of the season played at M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Sunrisers Hyderabad were defeated by 6 wickets. Run machine Virat Kohli batted amazingly in this match. He came to open and returned unbeaten after leading his team to victory. He played the biggest innings for RCB. But, still Virat Kohli did not get the Player of the Match award. In such a situation, the question arises that if not Virat, then who got this award?

Virat Kohli played the match winning innings

Finishing off in style, the Virat Kohli way

Relive his fine hitting ▶️ https://t.co/BgCQGrZujg#TATAIPL | #KhelBindaas | #RCBvSRH | @RCBTweets | @imVkohlipic.twitter.com/XrKRk7x6oX

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) March 28, 2026

Chasing the target of 202 runs set by Sunrisers Hyderabad, Virat Kohli, who came to open for Royal Challengers Bangalore, returned unbeaten only after leading his team to victory. Kohli played an unbeaten inning of 69 runs on 38 balls, in which he hit 5 fours and 5 sixes, in which his strike rate was 181.58. This innings of Kohli played an important role in RCB winning the match. But, still he was not chosen player of the match.

Jacob Duffy made a splash in his debut match

Jacob Duffy, who made his IPL debut playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL 2026, created a stir as soon as he arrived. He bowled a spell of 4 overs in front of Sunrisers Hyderabad, in which he took 3 wickets for just 22 runs. Duffy first dismissed Abhishek Sharma for 7 runs, then on the last ball of the same over he dismissed Travis Head for 11 runs. Duffy did not stop here, he gave another blow to Hyderabad in the power play itself and dismissed Nitish Kumar Reddy for zero.

A sensational start to life in the #TATAIPL! 👏

Jacob Duffy is named the Player of the Match for his blistering debut in the season opener ❤️

Relive his spell 👉 https://t.co/af3dJK4EpM#KhelBindaas | #RCBvSRH | @RCBTweetspic.twitter.com/7DcMOeKRRA

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) March 28, 2026

Jacob received Player of the Match award

After the win against Sunrisers Hyderabad, fast bowler Jacob Duffy was awarded the Player of the Match award. There is no doubt that Duffy had broken the back of Hyderabad by dismissing Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head and Nitish Kumar Reddy in the power play, otherwise these batsmen would have proved dangerous and could have set an even bigger target for RCB.

Also read: Virat Kohli created history, Ishan Kishan achieved milestone, 7 records made in RCB VS SRH match