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Virat Kohli To Be Tied Down By Narine? 3 Player Battles To Watch Out In RCB vs KKR IPL Match



Virat Kohli vs Sunil Narine (Source: @IPL/X.com)Virat Kohli vs Sunil Narine (Source: @IPL/X.com)

After much drama, the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 returns with the Royal Challengers Benagluru (RCB) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) game at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. These two high-profile sides will play on Saturday, May 17th, 2025, from 7:30 PM IST in match number 58 which is the first match after the re-schedulement of the league.

The Royal Challengers Bengaluru side are comfortably placed second on the table with eight wins in 11 games, where they have 15 points and a NRR of +0.482. Conversely, Kolkata Knight Riders are sixth with five wins in 12 games, as they have lost six of them with just 11 points and a NRR of +0.193.

Therefore, before this crucial encounter, let's have a look at some player battles that could shape the RCB vs KKR game.

1. Virat Kohli vs Sunil Narine

Criterion
Data
Innings
17
Runs
136
Wickets
4
Balls129
Average34.00
Strike Rate105.42
  • The battle between RCB's great Virat Kohli and KKR's legend Sunil Narine will be epic in Bengaluru, where both of them have played significant roles for their side in the past decade. 
  • Kohli, who generally opens the innings, has been in fine form this season, whereas Narine's credentials have been top-notch, year after year. In 17 innings where Kohli has faced Narine, the veteran mystery spinner has dismissed the Indian legend just four times, whereas only 136 runs have been scored so far off 129 deliveries, which means the strike rate is just 105.42.
  • Reflecting Kohli's inability to go big against Narine, the West Indian spinner has an edge over the right-hander. An average of 34 reflects that Kohli generally plays it safe against the off-spinner, which is something KKR would be happy about, considering Sunil Narine could be handed the ball in the powerplay as he can keep Kohli quiet in the initial overs.

2. Rajat Patidar vs Andre Russell

Criterion
Data
Innings
2
Runs
1
Wickets
2
Balls4
Average0.50
Strike Rate25.00
  • Rajat Patidar has had trouble facing Andre Russell in the past. Out of four deliveries the West Indian pacer has bowled against the RCB skipper, he's managed to dismiss him twice where just one run has been scored as an average of 0.50 and a strike rate of 25 explains that Patidar has not had a great time against Russell despite a limited sample size.
  • Russell has been a canny operator and can be a viable option in the death, as he has done again and again in the past with his variations that come in handy, while Patidar has decent numbers in the death where he likes to go big and provide his team with a solid finish, going after pace.
  • It will be interesting to see if Patidar manages to overcome the dominance of Andre Russell or if the pacer manages to outfox him again in the IPL.

3. Ajinkya Rahane vs Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Criterion
Data
Innings
18
Runs
104
Wickets
7
Balls117
Average14.85
Strike Rate88.88
  • KKR skipper, Ajinkya Rahane has a terrible record against RCB's legendary pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar. The right-arm pacer has managed to dismiss Rahane on seven occasions out of 18, where he has only scored 104 runs off 117 deliveries. Rahane has been troubled by Bhuvneshwar's moving deliveries as the right-arm pacer has been incredible with the white ball.
  • Rahane has played a vital role for KKR this season with the bat, scoring 375 runs in 12 games so far, where he has averaged 37.50 and a strike rate of 146.48. Whereas, Bhuvneshwar has played a vital role for RCB, picking wickets at regular intervals.
  • If Bhuvi manages to again trouble Rahane with his swinging deliveries, RCB would have a great edge; considering getting the KKR captain out early would be ideal for them.
  • Rahane, who bats one down the order, has an average of 14.85 and a strike rate of 88.88 against right-arm pace of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and hence RCB would like to utilize this matchup in their favour by bringing Bhuvi into the attack whenever Rahane walks onto the crease.