Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Kolkata Knight Riders: IPL 2026 Match Preview

Raipur. In the 57th match of IPL 2026, Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Kolkata Knight Riders are facing each other. The match will start at 7:45 PM at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium in Raipur. This match is important for both teams. Bengaluru wants to secure its place in the playoffs with a win, while Kolkata is under pressure to win to stay in the competition. Bengaluru is in second place in the points table with 14 points.

• 36th time two teams are facing each other

A total of 35 matches have been played between the two teams so far. Of these, Bengaluru has won 15 and Kolkata has won 20 matches. Last season, Bengaluru won the match between these two. This season, both teams are facing each other for the first time.

• Previous match win with Krunal's half-century

Although Bengaluru is in second place in the points table, its batting was not up to par in the previous match. Bengaluru had to struggle a lot while chasing a target of 167 runs against Mumbai Indians. Krunal Pandya's half-century and a six hit by Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the last over proved crucial in securing the win for the team.

The biggest concern for Bengaluru is the form of captain Rajat Patidar. Patidar has flopped in the last 6 matches. In this period, he has scored only one half-century and one 20+ score. Kohli is the team's top run-scorer with 379 runs in 11 matches. On the other hand, Bhuvneshwar Kumar has become the highest wicket-taker in the IPL with 21 wickets.

• Kolkata's bowling unit in form

Kolkata's bowling unit is in excellent form. The spin pair of Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy is getting good support from Kartik Tyagi, Vaibhav Arora, and Anukul Roy.

Kolkata has won the last four matches consecutively. If the pitch in Raipur remains slow, Kolkata's spinners could become a big problem for Bengaluru. Kartik Tyagi is the team's top wicket-taker with 13 wickets.

Kolkata is in eighth place in the table with 9 points from 10 matches. Just one more loss could push them out of the playoff race. Captain Ajinkya Rahane's bat has been quiet so far, but Rinku Singh, Finn Allen, and Cameron Green have batted well in recent matches. Angkrish Raghuvanshi is the team's top run-scorer.

Players to watch

• Virat Kohli

Until recently, Virat Kohli was a contender for the Orange Cap, but after getting out for zero twice in a row, he has dropped to 13th place in the list of highest run-scorers. This is the second time this has happened in his IPL career and the first time since 2022.

His form has declined at a time when Bengaluru's top and middle order are faltering and they have lost two of their last three matches. In the last three matches, he was out to Rabada's short ball, Pranshu Yadav's Test match-style delivery, and Deepak Chahar's length ball, failing to hit a shot to mid-off. Interestingly, Kohli scores faster against Bathel (strike rate 169) than Salt (strike rate 140), appearing more aggressive with the new opening partner.

• Sunil Narine

Sunil Narine has bowled some magical spells of four overs this season: 1 wicket for 17 runs against DC, 1 wicket for 23 runs against LSG (excluding the Super Over), and 1 wicket for 21 runs against CSK. While he may not be the highest wicket-taker among spinners in the competition, his economy of 6.51 consistently creates pressure, which other bowlers are capitalizing on. His duel with Rajat Patidar is expected to be very interesting, and with Varun likely not in the playing 12, Kolkata's focus will be on him.

Pacers might get extra bounce

The pitch in Raipur is expected to be balanced. Fast bowlers may get swing and extra bounce in the initial period, after which batting will be easier. 7 IPL matches have been played here. Of these, the team batting first has won 2 times and the team chasing has won 5 times. One match has been tied.

Weather information

The weather in Raipur will be hot. The temperature may range between 33 to 36 degrees Celsius in the evening. With low humidity and almost no chance of rain, a full 40-over match is expected.

Team information

Salt has not played for Bengaluru since injuring his finger in the match against Delhi Capitals on April 18 and had returned to his country. He has not yet joined the team. There is little chance of change in the team that has just won, but some changes in bowling against Kolkata's in-form batting lineup could be effective. Can Romario Shepherd be replaced by Jacob Duffy? Suyash Sharma has also taken only 3 wickets in his last 7 matches. If Bengaluru considers playing only one spinner, playing Venkatesh Iyer in place of Suyash against his old team could be a bold decision.

According to Shane Watson, Varun is 'in pain' and is being monitored. He was also not seen in training. If Varun is not fit, Kolkata has two options: leg-spinner Pranshu Solanki, who last played in the IPL in 2022, and spin bowling all-rounder Daksh Kamra, who has not played T20 cricket yet but whose bowling style is almost identical to Varun's.

Manish Pandey has not had a chance to bat in two matches since his IPL comeback. He will retain his place. According to Watson, Matheesha Pathirana is fit and ready to play.

• Royal Challengers Bengaluru (Probable): Jacob Bathel, Virat Kohli, 3 Devdutt Padikkal, 4 Rajat Patidar (Captain), 5 Jitesh Sharma (Wicketkeeper), 6 Krunal Pandya, 7 Tim David, 8 Romario Shepherd/Jacob Duffy, 9 Rasik Salam, 10 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 11 Josh Hazlewood, 12 Suyash Sharma.

According to Shane Watson, Varun is 'in pain' and is being monitored. He was also not seen in training. If Varun is not fit, Kolkata has two options: leg-spinner Pranshu Solanki, who last played in the IPL in 2022, and spin bowling all-rounder Daksh Kamra, who has not played T20 cricket yet but whose bowling style is almost identical to Varun's.

• Kolkata Knight Riders (Probable): 1 Finn Allen, 2 Ajinkya Rahane (Captain), 3 Angkrish Raghuvanshi, 4 Cameron Green, 5 Rinku Singh, 6 Manish Pandey, 7 Rovman Powell, 8 Sunil Narine, 9 Anukul Roy, 10 Kartik Tyagi, 11 Vaibhav Arora, 12 Pranshu Solanki / Daksh Kamra.

Statistics and interesting information

• In the matches Bengaluru has lost, Josh Hazlewood has conceded 14.7 runs per over in 9 overs of the powerplay. However, in the matches Bengaluru has won, he has conceded runs at a rate of just 5.8 in 9 overs.
• This is the fourth time Bhuvneshwar Kumar has taken more than 20 wickets in a single IPL season. Only Yuzvendra Chahal has achieved this feat more times. This season, Bhuvneshwar (12 wickets) is second only to Kagiso Rabada in taking the most wickets in the powerplay.
• In the entire IPL, Kohli's strike rate against Narine is only 105.42, and he has been dismissed 4 times in 17 innings. However, Rajat Patidar has scored runs at a strike rate of 185.71 facing 14 balls from Narine and has not been dismissed so far.
• Finn Allen is one of only four batsmen (minimum 7 innings) with a strike rate of over 200. His strike rate is 205.88. Above him are Vaibhav Suryavanshi (236.55), Priyansh Arya (226.49), and Abhishek Sharma (210.17).