RCB collide with upbeat KKR to cement hold over pole position in points table
The Royal Challengers Bengaluru are ready to rumble for their next game of the season as they host a resurgent Kolkata Knight Riders in less than 24 hours in Raipur.
A win against KKR might just get themselves slightly ahead in the race to the mountain. In the last game against Mumbai Indians, a solid bowling performance led by Bhuvneshwar Kumar underlined the depth that RCB brings. However, their batting unit hit a reef and could have been a shipwreck had it not been for a Krunal Pandya special. If there is one area they will focus on getting the gears back up, it will be their area of expertise with the bat.
For KKR, it has been a dream outing in their last four games. Four wins from the last four matches would put them in good stead. They will be eyeing to extend their form to another win if they are to keep their chances of making the cut for the play-offs alive. That makes them a side to watch out for. KKR would be coming to this clash on the back of wins against Delhi Capitals, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Lucknow Super Giants and Rajasthan Royals.
One common element of KKR’s scintillating performance in the last four games has been their bowling unit. They managed to restrict Rajasthan Royals to 155, Lucknow Super Giants to 155, Sunrisers Hyderabad to 165 and Delhi Capitals to 142. This simply underlines the bowling depth they bring into the clash. Given the powerhouse that both sides walk into the battle with, this makes it a battle to savour.
Venue Watch
The last game played in Nava Raipur clarified the fact that the surface would be a walk in the park for the batters. They will have to find their way through smart batting. There is going to be a lot of spongy bounce on offer and dew might not be making an appearance. This means the batters will have to rely on their nous and their ability to play the right shots in order to get a significant total on the board.
Match detail:
Match: Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Kolkata Knight Riders
Venue: Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh Stadium, Chhattisgarh
Date: 13th May, 2026
Time: 7:30 PM
Head-to-head:
Matches played: 36
RCB: 20
KKR: 15
Squads:
Royal Challengers Bengaluru:
Rajat Patidar (C), Virat Kohli, Yash Dayal, Tim David, Jacob Bethell, Romario Shepherd, Josh Hazlewood, Nuwan Thushara, Devdutt Padikkal, Jitesh Sharma, Krunal Pandya, Rasikh Dar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jordan Cox, Suyash Sharma, Venkatesh Iyer, Swapnil Singh, Jacob Duffy, Kanishk Chouhan, Abhinandan Singh, Mangesh Yadav, Phil Salt, Satvik Deswal, Vicky Ostwal, Vihaan Malhotra
Kolkata Knight Riders:
Ajinkya Rahane (c), Finn Allen, Angkrish Raghuvanshi (w), Rinku Singh, Cameron Green, Rovman Powell, Manish Pandey, Anukul Roy, Sunil Narine, Vaibhav Arora, Kartik Tyagi, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ramandeep Singh, Tejasvi Dahiya, Navdeep Saini, Tim Seifert, Rachin Ravindra, Blessing Muzarabani, Matheesha Pathirana, Rahul Tripathi, Sarthak Ranjan, Prashant Solanki, Saurabh Dubey, Umran Malik, Daksh Kamra
