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Royal Challengers Bengaluru
Kolkata Knight Riders
Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Kolkata Knight Riders will meet in the 57th match of the IPL 2026 in Raipur. RCB will enter this match as the table toppers with 7 wins from 11 matches and a strong net run rate of 1.103.
KKR will come into this match after improving their campaign with 4 straight wins. 3 of those victories came while chasing, which will give confidence to their batting group. However, they remain in the lower half of the table with 4 wins and 5 losses, making this game important for their playoff chances.
KKR have also done well against RCB in recent meetings. They have won 3 of the last 5 matches between the sides, while one match ended without a result. RCB will still start as favourites because of their team balance and current form.
Bhuvi has taken 21 wickets in 11 matches this season and will face a KKR top order that has struggled for consistency, giving him a good chance to strike in the powerplay & death overs.
The betting tip is...
Bhuvneshwar Kumar - Over 1.5 wickets
64 %
36 %
Royal Challengers BengaluruKolkata Knight RidersVirat Kohli remains their most consistent batter with 379 runs at a strike rate of 163.36, including 3 fifties. Devdutt Padikkal has scored 328 runs with 3 half-centuries.
Rajat Patidar controlled the middle overs strongly against spin and scored 326 runs at a strike rate of 195.20. Tim David has 232 runs at a strike rate of 196.61. Jitesh Sharma and Romario Shepherd added depth.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar leads the bowling attack with 21 wickets in 11 matches at an economy of 7.46. Krunal Pandya has 10 wickets in 11 games with an economy of 8.85. Josh Hazlewood has taken 10 wickets in 8 matches and added experience to the pace attack. Rasikh Salam and Suyash Sharma contributed with 8 and 7 wickets respectively.
Kohli, Padikkal and Bhuvneshwar are the key players.
Predicted Lineup: Virat Kohli, Jacob Bethell, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar (c), Jitesh Sharma (wk), Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Suyash Sharma/Rasikh Salam, Josh Hazlewood
KKR have shown improvement in recent matches. Ajinkya Rahane opened the innings with Finn Allen in the previous match, and Allen scored more than 80 runs to take his tally to 210 runs at a strike rate of 205.88.
Rinku Singh leads the batting charts with 237 runs at a strike rate of 145.39 in 8 innings. Angkrish Raghuvanshi has scored 269 runs in 10 innings at a strike rate of 135.85. Rinku and Angkrish registered 2 and 3 fifties, respectively. Cameron Green scored 232 runs at a strike rate of 146.83, while Rahane contributed 218 runs with one fifty.
Kartik Tyagi leads the pace attack with 13 wickets, while Vaibhav Arora has picked 11 wickets. Sunil Narine has taken 10 wickets and remains their most economical bowler. Varun Chakaravarthy has 10 wickets in 8 games, while Anukul Roy has 8 wickets in 10 matches.
Allen, Raghuvanshi and Tyagi are the key players.
Predicted Lineup: Ajinkya Rahane (c), Finn Allen, Angkrish Raghuvanshi (wk), Cameron Green, Rinku Singh, Rovman Powell, Anukul Roy, Vaibhav Arora, Sunil Narine, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kartik Tyagi
RCB start as favourites because of their stronger balance and consistency this season. Their batting has delivered regularly, but the bowling attack has been equally important in their rise to the top of the table.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been the key difference with 21 wickets in 11 matches and has averaged close to two wickets per game, better than any bowler in this contest this season.
KKRβs top order has struggled to deliver consistently, which can again create pressure against the new ball. Bhuvneshwarβs control in the powerplay and death overs can trouble KKRβs batting lineup. RCB will back themselves to control the game with both bat and ball and continue their strong run this season.
