IPL 2021, KKR vs RCB: Preview, head-to-head and stats
The 30th game of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 will see Kolkata Knight Riders take on the Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad. After losing five of the seven games, the Knight Riders would want to improve in the second-half of the ongoing season. Meanwhile, the Virat Kohli-led RCB aim at getting back to the top two. Here is the preview.
A look at the head-to-head record
The Knight Riders have a slightly better record than RCB in the head-to-head encounters. In 27 matches, KKR have won 14 with a win percentage of 51.85. Meanwhile, RCB have managed to win 13 (win percentage: 48.15). Since IPL 2018, RCB have won four out of seven matches against KKR. The Royal Challengers won the previous encounter against KKR this season.
Here are the top performers
RCB skipper Kohli has racked up 730 runs from 27 games at a strike rate of 129.66 against the Knight Riders. In the bowling segment, Yuzvendra Chahal has scalped 16 wickets with a best bowling performance of 3/16. Against RCB, Dinesh Karthik owns 421 runs at 20.04, while Sunil Narine has accounted for 16 wickets with a match best haul of 4/20.
The key battles to watch out for
Kohli has managed to score 99 runs off 94 balls against Narine, while Narine has dismissed the former twice. Interestingly, Narine has also dismissed Glenn Maxwell twice (52 runs off 44 balls) and AB de Villiers thrice (46 runs off 34 balls). While Caribbean maestro Andre Russell has smashed 80 runs off 37 balls against Chahal, the latter has dismissed Russell once.
A look at the interesting stats
The previous encounter between KKR and RCB this season was a day affair. Maxwell (78) anchored RCB's innings before ABD (76*) added the finishing touch. While Maxwell's strike-rate in the middle overs read 167.74, ABD scored at a strike rate of 261.9 at the death, that day. Besides, Kohli, who has recent scores of 35, 12, and 8, would want to go big.
