Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], March 29 (ANI): Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) began their IPL 2026 campaign in emphatic fashion, chasing down a challenging 202 against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in just 15.4 overs, prompting SRH head coach Daniel Vettori to admit his side fell short with the ball.

Despite posting a competitive 201 after recovering from 33 for 3, Hyderabad had no answers to a blistering assault led by Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal, both of whom struck rapid half-centuries to seal a dominant win for Royal Challengers Bengaluru.

'I think we understand where the game's gone and how destructive that RCB batting line-up is,' Vettori said, according to ESPNcricinfo. 'You have to get a good start, which we did against [Phil] Salt, but then I just think we weren't at our best with the ball, we weren't as disciplined as we needed to be, and we gave a lot of scoring opportunities to Virat and Padikkal, who played exceptionally well.'

'I thought the way his [Padikkal's] intent, when he came out, put us right back under pressure, where we should have been able to maintain a little bit more after getting that important wicket of Salt. So it was a very good batting performance by RCB and one of our poorer bowling performances.'

RCB raced to 76 in the powerplay despite losing Phil Salt early, with SRH's experienced attack struggling to contain the flow of runs. Bowlers like Jaydev Unadkat, Harshal Patel and Eshan Malinga were taken apart as lengths and discipline deserted the side.

Vettori stressed that the issue was not a lack of clarity but poor execution on the night.

'I think we learned a lot from how RCB bowled and what was effective and what wasn't, and obviously we discussed that, but we just weren't able to implement that. You don't want to have a rusty performance because of how important every game is in the IPL, particularly how to start.

'But today was one of our challenging bowling displays. We saw at the back end when we started to go back to our usual disciplines that we could actually be effective and take some wickets, but I think we just missed our lengths too much. Duffy, in particular, showed the length to bowl on that surface.'

SRH's preparations were further disrupted by the absence of captain Pat Cummins and an untimely injury to England allrounder Brydon Carse, who was ruled out after being struck on his bowling hand during training.

His replacement, David Payne, endured a tough introduction after arriving just hours before the match, conceding 18 runs in his first over. However, he recovered to pick up key wickets, including Rajat Patidar and Jitesh Sharma.

'We put him in a tough situation tonight to come in, but we just thought with the balance of the team, we needed that bowling,' Vettori said. 'By the end of the day, his figures were pretty good [he dismissed Rajat Patidar and Jitesh Sharma off consecutive deliveries], and he showed that he can be effective even in these conditions where the wickets are really good.

'I think with Pat coming back later in the tournament, Carse hopefully back soon, and Payne, that gives us some good options.'

While SRH will look to regroup quickly, RCB's dominant start underlines the batting firepower that makes them one of the early contenders in the tournament. Next, the SRH will lock horns with the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Thursday at Eden Gardens. (ANI)