What happened the last time KKR played RCB at Eden Gardens, Kolkata?
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will clash with Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in Match 36 of Indian Premier League (IPL) on Sunday (April 21) at Eden Gardens.
KKR have four victories in six games, and are third in the points table. In their last outing, the Knight Riders could not defend 223 against Rajasthan Royals.
On the other hand, RCB are languishing at the bottom of the points table with a single victory in seven games. Their latest game witnessed them conceding IPL's highest-ever total of 287 against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Although they fought back to register their highest-ever second-innings total of 262, they fell short by 25 runs.
As per head-to-head stats, KKR hold an edge with 20 wins in 34 games. In their last meeting earlier this season, the Kolkata-based franchise romped to a seven-wicket victory on March 29 in M.Chinnaswamy Stadium.
On that note, let's take a look at the action that transpired between KKR and RCB, when they last clashed in Eden Gardens.
KKR last played RCB at Eden Gardens in April 2023
On April 6, 2023, Royal Challengers Bengaluru won the toss and invited Kolkata Knight Riders to bat.
The home side started on a disappointing note, with David Willey breaching the defenses of Venkatesh Iyer (3) and Mandeep Singh (0). Thereafter, Michael Bracewell dismissed skipper Nitish Rana (1) as well.
However, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Rinku Singh were exceptional to soak up the pressure and get the team back on track. After assessing the conditions well, Rahmanullah Gurbaz played counter-attacking shots to put RCB bowlers under pressure.
Nevertheless, the visitors sent Gurbaz (57) and Andre Russell (0) back to the hut in quick succession. Then Shardul Thakur arrived at No. 7 and employed his aggressive intent to continue the team's momentum.
Rinku (46) played the second fiddle as Thakur slammed nine fours and three sixes to score 68 off 29 balls. In the end, KKR posted a mammoth total of 204 on the board. Willey and Karn Sharma picked up two wickets each for the Bengaluru-based franchise.
In response, RCB started off on a strong note with their openers, Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis. However, Kohli (21) and Faf du Plessis (23) were both caught in a spin trap, getting dismissed by Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy in consecutive overs.
Chakravarthy looked unplayable, as he bowled Glenn Maxwell (5) and Harshal Patel (0) in quick succession. Then young spinner Suyash Sharma opened his bag of tricks to dismiss Shahbaz Ahmed (1) and Dinesh Karthik (9).
Willey (20) and Bracewell (19) were the only double-digit scorers for RCB as they were all out on 123 in 17.4 overs. Chakravarthy finished with figures of 4/15, while Sharma registered figures of 3/30, and was well supported by Narine with 2/16.
Thakur was adjudged the Player of the Match for his contributions of 68 (27) and 1/15 with the ball.