Kohli and Padikkal lead Bengaluru into IPL top two after beating Gujarat

BENGALURU, India (AP) — Virat Kohli smashed 81 after he was dropped off the first ball and Royal Challengers Bengaluru ran down Gujarat Titans by five wickets in the Indian Premier League on Friday.

Thanks to Kohli's 44-ball knock and Devdutt Padikkal's 55 in a whirlwind second-wicket stand of 115 runs off 59 balls, Bengaluru comfortably reached 206-5 in 18.5 overs.

Gujarat made 205-3 on the back of opener Sai Sudharsan's even 100 off 58 balls, his third IPL century.

Sudharsan, in his 47th IPL game, became the quickest player to 2,000 IPL runs, eclipsing Chris Gayle’s record of 48 matches.

Kohli was dropped by Washington Sundar at mid-wicket in Mohammed Siraj’s first over and went on to crash eight boundaries and four sixes.

Padikkal and Kohli punished Gujarat’s two premium bowlers Kagiso Rabada (0-45) and Rashid Khan (2-49). Kohli welcomed Rashid with a straight six off the second delivery and Padikkal smashed Rabada for a six off the first ball he faced.

Padikkal was the aggressor of the two batters and completed his half-century from 20 balls with six sixes and two fours while Kohli raised his third fifty of the season from 30 balls.

Bengaluru was in sight of a big finish in front of its home fans chanting “R-C-B” before they lost four wickets in four overs. Rashid deceived Padikkal with a perfect googly while Kohli dragged jason Holder’s slower ball onto his stumps.

Bengaluru slipped to 173-5 in the 16th over but Krunal Pandya and Tim David, who have played more than 550 Twenty20s and scored more than 9,000, safely finished Bengaluru's fifth win in seven games.

Earlier, Sudharsan dominated Gujarat’s batting — especially square of the wicket — as the left-hander shared a 128-run century opening stand with captain Shubman Gill (32).

Sudharsan’s solid hundred included 11 fours and five sixes, but he was dismissed next ball when he offered a simple return catch to Josh Hazlewood’s 143 kph short ball.

Bengaluru planned for the last over to be bowled by pacer Rasikh Salam, but he left the field due to cramps and Pandya bowled instead. Holder smashed two sixes and a four and Gujarat passed 200 runs.

Bengaluru was second in the table after its fourth home win. Gujarat was seventh on net run-rate.

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Royal Challengers Bengaluru's Virat Kohli celebrates his fifty runs with batting partner Devdutt Padikkal during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Gujarat Titans in Bengaluru, India, Friday, April 24, 2026. (AP Photo)

Gujarat Titans' Sai Sudharsan plays a shot during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Gujarat Titans in Bengaluru, India, Friday, April 24, 2026. (AP Photo)

Royal Challengers Bengaluru's Virat Kohli plays a shot during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Gujarat Titans in Bengaluru, India, Friday, April 24, 2026. (AP Photo)

Royal Challengers Bengaluru's Virat Kohli plays a shot during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Gujarat Titans in Bengaluru, India, Friday, April 24, 2026. (AP Photo)

Royal Challengers Bengaluru's Virat Kohli clean bowled by Gujarat Titans' Jason Holder during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Gujarat Titans in Bengaluru, India, Friday, April 24, 2026. (AP Photo)

NAHUNTA, Ga. (AP) — Two large wildfires burning in drought-stricken southeast Georgia have destroyed more than 120 homes and are threatening nearly 1,000 more, Gov. Brian Kemp said Friday.

Kemp told reporters after touring the fire area that state officials believe the wildfires have burned more homes than any other in Georgia’s history.

The fire in rural Brantley County has burned 87 homes since it began Friday, fanned by gusty winds into pine woods that are dry as tinder. Kemp said officials believe the fire was sparked by a balloon that landed on a live power line.

Spread across more than 8 square miles (20 square kilometers), the Brantley County blaze was 15% contained Friday, the Georgia Forestry Commission said. Local officials have ordered evacuations across an expanding area almost daily, including Friday.

“There’s no way to stop this fire,” Kemp said. “They’re having to contain the flanks and the back of it and then, hopefully, we get a change in the weather.”

The second and larger fire in sparsely populated Clinch and Echols counties at the Florida state line has destroyed 35 homes, according to the governor. That fire has burned about 50 square miles (129 square kilometers), an area twice the size of Manhattan.

No fire deaths or injuries have been reported in Georgia.

Firefighters are battling more than 150 other wildfires in Georgia and Florida that have sent smoky haze into places far from the flames, triggering air quality warnings for some cities.

Scientists say the Eastern U.S. is at greater risk of intense wildfires due to factors such as climate change, record drought and dead trees still littering some Southern forests after being toppled by Hurricane Helene in 2024.

Local officials estimate roughly 200 Brantley County residents have been ordered to evacuate, leaving those displaced to worry about animals left behind and whether they will have homes to return to.

While crews with bulldozers work to clear fire breaks around the burning areas, firefighters from dozens of local agencies have focused on protecting nearby homes and other structures — clearing away dry brush and using hoses and sprinklers to keep houses and yards wet.

"We’ve definitely had the local fire guys out there literally hosing stuff down,” said Seth Hawkins, a Georgia Forestry Commission spokesperson dispatched to the Brantley County fire.

In Florida, firefighters were battling more than 120 wildfires Friday, mostly in the state’s northern half. Fire crews in Georgia responded to 31 new and relatively small blazes Thursday, the state forestry commission said.

Officials say soaking rain is needed to snuff out the larger fires. Areas where the two big wildfires are burning in Georgia have a 20% to 40% chance of showers and possible thunderstorms over the weekend.

That might produce enough rain to slow the big fires down, Hawkins said, but won't extinguish them. And lightning from thunderstorms could spark more fire, he said.

“We’re going to need several inches of rain, and then maybe another blast of several inches, to extinguish this thing,” Hawkins said.

The burned out remains of the Wedding Chapel at covenant acres is seen near the Brantley Highway 82 fire, Thursday, April 23, 2026, near Nahunta, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

A burned vehicle sits near a destroyed home as the Brantley Highway 82 fire burns, Thursday, April 23, 2026, near Nahunta, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

A burned trailer sits near a destroyed home as the Brantley Highway 82 fire burns, Thursday, April 23, 2026, near Nahunta, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

A firefighter works the Brantley Highway 82 fire, Thursday, April 23, 2026, near Nahunta, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)