Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) are all set to take on Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in match 36 of the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) on Wednesday at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
TSN brings you all the live score updates, analysis, team news and highlights from the match.
RCB vs KKR: Live Updates
23:32- Varun Chakaravarthy wins the Player of the Match for his spell of 3/27 which guided KKR to victory.
23:12- KKR win by 21 runs. RCB's winning run comes to an end, while KKR finally end their torrid running streak. Kohli may regret his decision to bowl first considering their second innings performance, however, he was the only batsman who turned up scoring his fifth half-century of the season. Chakaravarthy was the star for KKR with his spell of 3/27 in four overs, supported by Suyash and Russel who took two wickets each.
22:40- 138/6 in 15 overs. Things aren't looking good for RCB, Kohli had given them a good start but was unfortunately dismissed by Russel in the 12th over. It's now up to Karthik and Hasaranga to chase the score and win it for their side. Suyash and Varun have been pivotal for KKR in defending their score.
22:19- Kohli gets his well-deserved half-century as he looks to carry RCB all the way.
21:57- 58-3 after the six overs. It's a mixed start for RCB to the second innings, Virat Kohli has helped them make full use of the powerplay, however, they are the first team to lose three wickets during these overs. Suyash has been the star of the show for KKR so far taking the wickets of Shahbaz and Faf.
21:28- Kohli and du Plessis are at the crease. Kohli is on strike. Vaibhav Arora will open the attack
21:15- 200-5 after 20 overs to finish the innings. KKR would have liked to put up more, but Rinku and Wiese helped them put up a defendable score after Hasaranga took the wickets of Nitish and Venkatesh in the 18th over. Roy was the star batsman for the Riders giving them a good start, which was picked up on by Nitish. Harshal, Hasaranga, and current Purple Cap holder Siraj helped RCB slow the batsmen down.
20:38- After 14 overs it's 126-2. After the powerplay things slowed down for a bit for KKR after both openers were dismissed by RCB. However, Nitish and Venkatesh have picked up the pace after taking some time to adjust. Harshal has been excellent for RCB maintaining an economy of 6.00.
4️⃣3️⃣, 6️⃣1️⃣, 5️⃣0️⃣*
— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) April 26, 2023
Once is a chance, twice is a coincidence, thrice is a habit 👏#RCBvKKR | #AmiKKR | #TATAIPL | @JasonRoy20 pic.twitter.com/h3y7TVxnDz
20:05- Roy gets a well-deserved half-century, taking just 22 balls to reach it.
19:59- KKR have started well with Jagadeeshan and Roy putting up a partnership of 66 runs during the powerplay. The latter in particular has been influential, hitting four 4s in the sixth over. RCB's bowling order haven't been able to curtail the opening pair, however, Hasaranga has started well but others including Siraj have come up short.
19:30- The players are out! Siraj to bowl the first over for RCB. Jagadeeshan and Roy to open for KKR.
19:20- RCB Impact Subs: Faf du Plessis, Akash Deep, Karn Sharma, Finn Allen, Anuj Rawat
Faf du Plessis likely to come on during the second innings.
KKR Impact Subs: Mandeep Singh, Litton Das, Anukul Roy, Suyash Sharma, Kulwant Khejroliya,
Suyash Sharma most likely to be subbed in when KKR bowl.
🚨 Team Updates 🚨
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 26, 2023
A look at the Playing XIs of the two sides 💪🏻
Follow the match ▶️ https://t.co/o8MipjFd3t#TATAIPL | #RCBvKKR pic.twitter.com/2mrVfkT6BM
19:07- KKR (Playing XI): N Jagadeesan(w), Jason Roy, Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana(c), Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, David Wiese, Vaibhav Arora, Umesh Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy
19:06- RCB (Playing XI): Virat Kohli(c), Shahbaz Ahmed, Glenn Maxwell, Mahipal Lomror, Dinesh Karthik(w), Suyash Prabhudessai, Wanindu Hasaranga, David Willey, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj
19:01- RCB win the toss, with Virat Kohli choosing to bowl.
18:55- Pitch Report from Pommie Mbangwa and Kevin Pietersen: "The dimensions are small. Longest hit is 71 metres, that's not far by any stretch of the imagination. 102 sixes in the five games played here. When you have a look at the surface, as a batter you need to be consistent and being consistent means you got to give yourself a chance. When I look down here, it actually looks very dry. I am completely fine with the batter turning up here thinking 'let me find my way here, is it going to spin, is it not going to spin.' The batters can catch up. As a bowler, you have to be precise with your skills. If you're not, you disappear too often. 194 is an average score here."
18:45- Weather seems to calm right now, earlier forecasts had mentioned thunderstorms throughout the day but both teams are out warming up on the field.
RCB, placed fifth on the table, have registered four wins from seven matches so far and have eight points.
The side from Bengaluru are only two points adrift of the league leaders, Gujarat Titans (GT) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK), and will hope to catch up to them with a win on Wednesday.
MORE: Make your IPL 2023 predictions and win prizes with Dafabet in Premier League Million
KKR, on the other hand, have been inconsistent so far in the tournament. They are currently languishing in the eighth spot with four points from seven matches.
The Nitish Rana-led side are on a four-game losing streak and need to arrest their slide immediately.
Interestingly, despite the form graph being on RCB's favour, the last time they won against KKR at home was all the way back in 2015. It will be a record that RCB will be eager to put right.
The Chinnaswamy Stadium is a tough ground for bowlers and high scores are generally the norm. Both teams have some in-form batters but we expect the key battle that shapes the outcome of the game will be the duel between KKR's spin trio and RCB's in-form batsmen, led by Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis.
Stay tuned here for LIVE updates of the build-up and the match itself:
KKR expecting middle-order battle!
KKR's twitter feed seems to think it could come down to a battle of these two men today.
A middle-order masterclass! Can’t wait 🤩@rinkusingh235 | @Gmaxi_32 | #RCBvKKR | #AmiKKR | #TATAIPL pic.twitter.com/Z5MMr9PaWK
— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) April 26, 2023
Can Narine stop Kohli?
Kohli has been in good form in the ongoing season, scoring 279 runs at an average of 46.50 . However, KKR do have a trump card against him in Sunil Narine.
The KKR spinner has dismissed Kohli four times in the IPL and the RCB batter averages just 25 against him. His strike rate against Narine also drops down to 100.
Jason Roy key to KKR's chances
KKR have tried out five different opening combinations this season in seven games. Last game, it was Sunil Narine who opened with Narayan Jagadeesan because Jason Roy was off the field for some time when KKR bowled first.
Roy should be back at the top of the order and holds the key to KKR's batting performance. He will relish Chinnaswamy's short boundaries. However, Jagadeesan's spot could be under doubt given that he has failed to really sparkle this season in the IPL.
Kohli the one to watch in RCB vs KKR matchup
Star batsman Virat Kohli has a long history of playing extremely well in his side's matches against KKR.
Kohli is the highest-ever runscorer in this fixture, scoring 807 total runs against the Knight Riders.
Mixed conditions expected
The temperature is expected to be between 32°C and 22°C when RCB take on KKR.
Conditions may be overcast, with a slight chance of rain in the evening.
RCB likely staying put as KKR change it up
For RCB, Virat Kohli will look to make amends after he got out on a duck against RR in the last match. Meanwhile, Faf du Plessis will look to continue his onslaught from the other end as Kohli might take his time to settle down.
However, KKR's top and middle order needs to be more consistent while their trio of spinners, Sunil Narine, Varun Chakravarthy, and Suyash Sharma, need to pull out something different from their hat as they have been too predictable in the last couple of matches.
M Chinnaswamy Stadium is a batter's delight
The pitch in Bengaluru generally favours the batsmen with good pace and bounce, with the boundaries not being the biggest, meaning fans can expect to watch a flurry of sixes in both innings.
The average first innings winning score at the venue is 189.1 with teams chasing winning 53.6% of the matches. However, this season the average winning score has gone up to 200 which shows that the wicket has been favouring the batters more than ever.
No off days 👊
— Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) April 25, 2023
King Kohli is always zoned in 👑#PlayBold #ನಮ್ಮRCB #IPL2023 @imVkohli pic.twitter.com/oPiSSKdJmN
RCB vs KKR tips, predictions and betting odds
RCB's last outing was a nail-biter against the Rajasthan Royals, winning by just seven runs.
That performance was followed by a win against the Punjab Kings, with the franchise currently on a two-game winning streak and playing impressive cricket.
Their opponent, KKR, has struggled in the past week or two, with their last win coming against the Gujarat Titans on April 9.
Losing the past four matches has put the side toward the bottom of the table and it will take a miracle to rise back up. You can bet on this match in India here.
Prediction: RCB to win
| RCB win | KKR win | |
|---|---|---|
| Dafabet (India) | 1.76 | 2.12 |
Who will captain RCB against KKR?
Virat Kohli is once again expected to captain RCB against KKR since the regular skipper, Faf du Plessis, is nursing a rib injury which prevents him from fielding.
Under Kohli's captaincy, RCB have won both their games this time around.
RCB vs KKR: TV, telecast details
Sunrisers Hyderabad VS Delhi Capitals will be broadcast in several languages, across the following TV channels:
- Star Sports 1
- Star Sports 1 Hindi
- Star Sports 3
- Star Sports Select 1
- Star Sports Select 1 HD
- Star Sports HD1
RCB vs KKR : Live stream, mobile, online details
Live streaming of this game will be provided free of charge, exclusively through the Jio Cinema app across a range of platforms.
Live streaming of all IPL games will be available for free on the JioCinema app.
MORE: Make your IPL 2023 predictions and win prizes with Dafabet in Premier League Million Bonanza
