IPL 2026 hit a dramatic note as Virat Kohli's struggles continued with a golden duck against Mumbai Indians—his second consecutive failure in the tournament. The Royal Challengers Bengaluru chase got off to a nightmare start when Deepak Chahar struck with his very first ball, sending the former RCB captain back to the pavilion without scoring.

Kohli attempted to loft the ball over mid-off but misjudged the bounce, with the delivery rising higher than expected. The ball caught the top edge of his bat and ballooned toward Raj Bawa, who dived forward to take a sharp catch. This dismissal marked Kohli's second straight duck—he had been cleaned up for a two-ball duck by Prince Yadav in RCB's previous match against Lucknow Super Giants.

This rare double failure places Kohli in unwanted company: it's only the second time in his IPL career that he has recorded ducks in consecutive innings. The first instance came back in the 2022 season against LSG and Sunrisers Hyderabad. The golden duck also adds to an unfortunate record against Mumbai Indians—Kohli now has three ducks against MI, tying with Sunrisers Hyderabad for his most against any IPL opponent.

Chahar, riding high on confidence, struck again in his next over, removing Devdutt Padikkal to leave RCB reeling early in their chase. Earlier, Mumbai Indians had recovered brilliantly from a disastrous start to post 166/7 after being asked to bat first on a tricky Raipur surface. Bhuvneshwar Kumar delivered a vintage new-ball spell, dismissing Ryan Rickelton, Rohit Sharma, and Suryakumar Yadav inside the powerplay to leave MI struggling at 28/3.

But Tilak Varma anchored the recovery with a composed 57 off 42 balls, while Naman Dhir chipped in with a valuable 47. Their partnership helped Mumbai reach a competitive total on a pitch offering uneven bounce and assistance for seamers—setting the stage for a gripping contest.