Virat Kohli marked his first-ever appearance as an Impact Sub with a match-winning contribution, reclaiming the Orange Cap and steering Royal Challengers Bengaluru to a comfortable five-wicket win over Lucknow Super Giants at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Wednesday, April 15.
Coming into the fixture under a cloud of fitness concerns, Kohli did not feature in the starting XI after battling a fever and managing a knee issue in the build-up to the game. The decision to deploy him as an Impact Sub allowed RCB to manage his workload, limiting his involvement to the chase while avoiding time in the field.
The move proved decisive.
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Chasing 147, Kohli anchored the innings with 49 off 34 balls, hitting six fours and a six at a strike rate of 144. He set the tone early, racing to 40 off just 20 balls in the powerplay, effectively taking the game away from LSG. Although he fell in the 11th over to Avesh Khan, RCB's momentum remained intact as the hosts completed the chase in just 15.1 overs.
Here's a look at the top five run-scorers in IPL 2026 so far:
| Pos | Player | Team | Runs | Mat | HS | SR |
| 1 | Virat Kohli | RCB | 228 | 5 | 69* | 158.33 |
| 2 | Heinrich Klaasen | SRH | 224 | 5 | 62 | 142.67 |
| 3 | Rajat Patidar | RCB | 222 | 5 | 63 | 213.46 |
| 4 | Ishan Kishan | SRH | 213 | 5 | 91 | 190.17 |
| 5 | Vaibhav Suryavanshi | RR | 200 | 5 | 78 | 263.15 |
The knock also pushed Kohli to the top of the IPL 2026 run charts, underlining a strong start to the season. Prior to this fixture, he had scored 179 runs in four innings, including a 69* against Sunrisers Hyderabad in match 1 of the season and a half-century against Mumbai Indians in the last game.
After the knock against Mumbai, Kohli's availability itself had been uncertain. The 37-year-old missed time on the field in RCB's win against Mumbai Indians and stayed back in the city for monitoring.
Speaking after the game against LSG, Kohli said, "I'm still not 100%. My knee was a bit sore last game. Even health-wise, I've been under the weather for four or five days now. So, just getting back up to my best. I started off well today, so I was happy with my intensity."
With RCB back at the top of the table and Kohli leading the scoring charts, the early indicators point to a promising season for the defending champions.
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