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The recent form of Royal Challengers Bengaluru excellent and is better in comparison to that of Kolkata Knight Riders. Royal Challengers Bengaluru has won the last four matches in a row. RCB won their last match against Chennai Super Kings by just 2 runs.
Meanwhile Kolkata Knight Riders have only two wins in the last five games. They lost their last match to Chennai Super Kings by two wickets. Out of the last five matches, one of KKR's matches was washed out due to rain. They need to win this match to be alive in the playoff race.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru has been looking the most balanced team this season. They are having a tremendous run in the IPL 2025 season so far. RCB has won 8 out of 11 matches and are in the second spot in the points table. In the last match against Chennai Super Kings, RCB managed to come out as the winner with barest of the margins. Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s players are doing well collectively.
Virat Kohli is the top run-scorer for them this season with 505 runs in just 11 innings. Tim David and Romario Shepherd are doing the finishing duty for the team. In bowling, Josh Hazlewood has taken 18 wickets but is not with the team anymore due to injury. Krunal Pandya has handled the spin department while Lungi Ngidi did well in the last game in Josh’s absence. RCB is a solid contender for the trophy this season if they can handle the pressure.
Kolkata Knight Riders’ season has been a bit up-down. They have not played like defending champions at all this season. KKR have won five matches out of 12 matches. Captain Ajinkya Rahane is doing everything in his power to take his team to the playoffs but he lacks support in the batting department. Their top buy, Venkatesh Iyer has disappointed the most with his poor batting performances. Ajinkya Rahane is their top scorer with 375 runs.
In bowling, Varun Chakravarthy has taken 17 wickets which is the biggest positive for them. Vaibhav Arora has 16 wickets but his economy is above 10 and Harshit Rana has also been impactful with 15 wickets. They need a collective effort of the team in all three departments. Their fielding is also under a big question mark this season. KKR need to improve to stand a chance to qualify for the playoffs.
Both teams have faced each other 35 times so far. As per RCB vs KKR head to head records, RCB has won 15 matches. On the other hand, KKR has won 20 matches. In the last three matches, RCB won one match while KKR won two matches. KKR has a slight upper hand. But RCB is also in the fight.
M Chinnswamy Stadium in Bengaluru is batting-friendly. With small boundaries and an average score of around 170, chasing seems a little easy. The weather is rainy, there is a 40-75% chance of rain. Humidity will also be high which can affect the match a little.
Jacob Bethell, Virat Kohli, Mayank Aggarwal/Swastik Chikara, Rajat Patidar(c), Jitesh Sharma(w), Tim David, Krunal Pandya, Romario Shepherd, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Lungi Ngidi, Yash Dayal
Impact Players: Suyash Sharma, Liam Livingstone, Rasikh Dar Salam, Manoj Bhandage, Swapnil Singh
Injury Update: None
Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Sunil Narine, Ajinkya Rahane(c), Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Manish Pandey, Andre Russell, Rinku Singh, Moeen Ali, Ramandeep Singh, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakaravarthy
Impact Players: Harshit Rana, Anukul Roy, Luvnith Sisodia, Anrich Nortje, Mayank Markande
Injury Updates: None
*Only in case of 20 over match (Rain expected)
If Kolkata Knight Riders wins the toss they will choose to bowl first and invite RCB to bat first. As the weather can interrupt in between this match so chasing will be a better option in this match. RCB is expected to score 50-60 runs in powerplay while 180-190 runs in total. In this case Kolkata Knight Riders are expected to chase down the target easily. (Full 20 over match)
If in case two, Royal Challengers Bengaluru wins the toss, they will choose to bowl first. Then batting first, Kolkata Knight Riders will score 40-50 runs in powerplay. The total of Kolkata Knight Riders is expected to be 175-185 in 20 overs which RCB will chase down easily.
In both cases, the chasing team is predicted to win the match.
Virat Kohli is in one of his best forms in IPL history. Virat Kohli has scored 505 runs in 11 games so far in IPL 2025. He has played a lot of match winning innings in this season. Virat Kohli has already scored a total of seven fifties in this season and is eyeing for the first hundred in IPL 2025. He scored 62, 51 and 70 in his last three matches which is why his average is 63.13. Virat Kohli has scored a total of 1021 runs against Kolkata Knight Riders with an average of 40.84. He has scored seven fifties and one hundred against KKR in 32 innings. He is the key batter for RCB.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been in and out of form this season but his best has been seen in the second innings. He has been very effective in the second innings of the RCB matches. He has taken a total of 12 wickets in 10 matches in this season. He has been the highest wicket taker against Kolkata Knight Riders in IPl history. Bhuvneshwar Kumar has taken a total of 32 wickets against Kolkata Knight Riders in 30 matches. He has done well at M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru. You should definitely try Bhuvneshwar Kumar as your dream11 captain in one of your dream11 teams.
Chasing is quite easy at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru as the ground is small and the pitch is batting-friendly. There is a 75% chance of rain in this match, so the DLS rule can be applied. In such a case, the team chasing will have a slight advantage. RCB is in strong form but in a rain-affected match the game can go either way.
Disclaimer: CricOpinion provides predictions based on analysis, understanding, and intuition. Refer to records and stats before making decisions. You are not bound to follow these predictions. CricOpinion is not responsible for any losses, damages, or consequences resulting from the use of this information.
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