Virat Kohli has endured a rare and troubling spell in IPL 2026, suffering back-to-back golden ducks against Lucknow Super Giants and Mumbai Indians. The RCB star's second consecutive dismissal without scoring came on Sunday in Raipur, where he was caught at mid-off off the bowling of Deepak Chahar in the very first over of the chase. The delivery bounced just a touch more than Kohli anticipated, and his attempted drive found Raj Bawa running in to take a clean catch.

Just days earlier, on May 7 in Lucknow, Kohli had been bowled for a duck by Prince Yadav after facing just two balls. That dismissal set the tone for a difficult chase, which RCB ultimately lost by nine runs via the DRS method.

This marks the second time Kohli has recorded consecutive golden ducks in his IPL career, having also suffered the same fate during IPL 2022. But for cricket fans wondering what comes next, history offers a promising precedent.

The last time Kohli registered back-to-back ducks was during the ODI series against Australia in late 2025, when he was dismissed without scoring at Perth and then again at Adelaide. Critics began questioning his technique, but what followed was nothing short of spectacular. He responded with an unbeaten 74 off 81 balls in Sydney, then unleashed a masterclass against South Africa: 135 off 143 at Ranchi, 102 off 93 at Raipur, and an unbeaten 65 off 45 at Visakhapatnam. He followed that with 93 off 91 against New Zealand in Vadodara.

For RCB fans and Kohli supporters, the pattern is clear: when the champion batter hits rock bottom, he tends to bounce back with a vengeance. The question now is how quickly he can rediscover that form in the remaining matches of IPL 2026.