Dinesh Karthik has played for five franchises in IPL. (Source: AP)
IPL Live Score RCB vs KKR IPL score: Coming off a heartbreaking loss, the Indian Premier League game against Kolkata Knight Riders tomorrow will be a test of character for embattled Royal Challengers Bangalore, who have left themselves with little margin for error after a string of reverses.
RCB are struggling at sixth position after two wins and as many as four defeats, while the visiting KKR side is placed fourth with three victories and four losses.
It remains to be seen how RCB have recovered from the painful defeat to Chennai Super Kings at the Chinnaswamy Stadium earlier this week.
Though having a much better season than their beleaguered opponents, KKR too were stunned by Delhi Daredevils last night, and the two-time champions will be keen to get back to winning ways.
Last time the two teams clashed, KKR, under new captain Dinesh Karthik, successfully chased down a target of 177, thanks to Sunil Narine's blistering 19-ball fifty.
The spin trio of Narine, Kuldeep Yadav and Piyush Chawla also contributed to KKR's victory in the first leg.
For RCB, AB de Villiers has been in prime form this season, smashing 68 off 30 balls against CSK, and the South African maestro also singlehandedly downed Delhi Daredevils with his explosive batting.
He ripped apart Daredevils' bowling attack with an unbeaten 39-ball 90 to power his team to a convincing win.
After a brisk 57 and an unbeaten 92, skipper Virat Kohli failed against CSK, and he would be eager to produce another special knock in this crunch situation.
Opener Quinton De Kock, who has scored 165 runs so far, would like to carry on with his good performance after he had smashed 53 off 37 balls in the last match.
Corey Anderson and Mandeep Singh are also batsmen, who can use the long handle to good effect.
IPL 2018 RCB vs KKR Match 29: Royal Challengers Bangalore lost to Kolkata Knight Riders. (Source: BCCI)
"There's nothing special, nothing too bad about it, we're right in the middle. Thought it was a par score. With AB not being there, we knew Virat was key. I'm somebody who believes in trusting the eleven players, not making too many changes. I have a lot of time for them in life. They're great kids. After winning the World Cup you generally have a bit of a chip on the shoulder, but not these guys. Credit to Rahul Dravid too. They always have to say good things about him. Always trying to make sure to win the game," Karthik said.
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"It's a pretty surprising every time we bat. Looked better than it played (the track). 175 was a really good score I felt. If we field like that, we don't deserve to win. We need to be hard on ourselves and be more brave with the ball and in the field, we need to correct those things going forward. We didn't deserve to win with the way we fielded. We weren't just good enough tonight. I can't pin-point anything at this point. We got to win 6 out of 7 to qualify from here. Got to take every game as virtual semi-finals, there's no room for complacency. Need guys stepping up their game at the right time. Hopefully, they understand that moving forward," he said in post-match presentation
Kolkata Knight Riders beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by 6 wickets. Shubman Gill struck the winning runs for Kolkata Knight Riders as they beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by 6 wickets
Virat Kohli grabs a stunner to dismiss Dinesh Karthik. Karthik took the aerial route off Siraj but Kohli came running forward from Long on boundary and grabbed a stunner to get his counterpart. After 19 overs, KKR are 172/4
14 runs off Southee's final over and KKR need 15 runs in 12 balls with Lynn and skipper Karthik at the crease. Tim Southee's over certainly changed a lot in this match. RCB had it with them but they have let it go
Kolkata Knight Riders are back in the game with that boundary from Dinesh Karthik. They now need 29 off 18 balls. Virat Kohli needs to get these two wickets and we have Tim Southee to bowl this 18th over
Andre Russell is gone for a golden duck. It was a short delivery from Siraj that Russell pulled but it hit the top edge of his bat and Quinton de Kock completes a good running catch
Nitish Rana has gone back in the dug out after scoring that boundary. That brings in Andre Russell. This is the perfect time for him to come in as KKR need Kolkata Knight Riders need 37 runs in 22 balls
Chris Lynn gets to his hal-century with a single. Lynn was dropped on 7 by Murugan Ahswin and he hasn't looked back since then. A good part of his batting is he is sweeping the leg-spinners well and getting runs through them. KKR are still in driver's seat.
Robin Uthappa was looking comfortable out there in the middle but he has been undone by Murugan Ashwin. Once again Ashwin bowls a tossed up delivery and Uthappa takes the aerial route but only manages to give a catch to Tim Southee in the deep. He was looking very dangerous in the middle but has been dismissed
Anoterh maximum from Robin Uthappa and he ends a good over with a six. Robin pulled a short delivery from Yadav and dispatched it to the fine leg boundary. KKR are 107/1 and they are cruising towards the target. Virat Kohli certainly needs to do something to get some wickets and get his team back in the game
Robin Uthappa takes on Chahal and dispatches that one for a maximum. KKR move to 95/1. It was a tossed up delivery and Uthappan read it pretty well. Moroever, the shot had all the power that it required to cross the boundary rope. He is someone who is a brilliant T20 batsman and can take his team over the line singlehanded
Kolkata Knight Riders are 74/1 in 9 overs. They are clearly in the driver's seat especially Chris Lynn and Robin Uthappa well-set out there in the middle. Lynn was dropped for 7 by Murugan Ashwin and since then he has looked pretty good.
Murugan Ashwin makes up for the dropped catch as he picks a wicket on the very first ball of his spell. Sunil Narine tried to hit it in the air but found the fielder at long off. KKR lose their first for 59. This brings in Robin Uthappa in the middle
FOUR! What a way to begin the chase after the break. Chris Lynn struck a boundary straight away. Kolkata Knight Riders have dominated the Royal Challengers Bangalore thoroughly and they are looking well-set in the middle. KKR are 59/0 after 7 overs
There won't be much delay. The play will resume at 10:55 P.M. There is no news of overs being lost till now. Kolkata Knight Riders are 55/0 after 6.3 overs and they need 121 runs in 81 balls. They were set a target of 176 runs na dhave started the proceedings well. With Narine and Lynn at the crease, KKR are sitting in the driver's seat.
We have Rahul Dravid in the stands. The former Indian skipper has played for the Royal Challengers Bangalore and Rajasthan Royals in the earlier editions of the Indian Premier League. He would be happy to see Shubman Gill and Shivam Mavi taking the field. They were the part of U-19 team that won the World Cup earlier this year. Both were bought by KKR
Covers are being taken off. We won't have a much delay. Kolkata Knight Riders have started the chase pretty well as they have scored 55/0 in 6.3 overs. The more impoartant part of this chase is that they haven't lost any wickets till now. They need need 121 runs in 81 balls
Play stopped due to rain in Bengaluru. KKR are 55/0 and the covers have been brought on. We hope that the play resumes soon. You stay with us for live updates
The Powerplay overs have been bowled and KKR are 51/0. There have been few hiccups but Narina and Lynn have looked strong at the crease and with that they also call it for Timeout
A yorker length delivery from Umesh Yadav and Chris Lynn just dispatches that one for a maximum straight back past the bowler. KKR are 47/0 after 5 overs
Murugan Ashwin drops Chris Lynn that one and it could have been a big wicket for RCB. KKR openers have scored runs at a quick rate but they have given some chances of taking their wickets as well. RCB need to up their level in the field now
Sunil Narine has been scoring runs but he has been lucky in the middle. With a few top edges that haven't gone into the fielders' hands, he has moved to 24 off 14
SIX! First maximum of KKR innings. Sunil Narine times that shot with perfection. He just uses the pace of the ball and gets a six. The left-hander follows the six with a boundary now
A short delivery from Tim Southee and Sunil Narine edges that one. Virat Kohli dives forward but just falls short of it. They need wickets early in the innings. KKR 5/0 after 1
Royal Challengers Bangalore post 175/4 against Kolkata Knight Riders. Virat Kohli ended the innings with a maximum over fine leg to take his team to the total off Mitchell Johnson.
Virat Kohli notches up yet another half-century in this IPL 2018. And Anushka Sharma lauds Kohli's 50. With a couple of overs left in the innings, RCB would look to add 30 more from here one. They are 150/4
Andre Russell scalps his third wicket. Mandeep Singh tries to pull a short delivery from Russell but finds Mavi in the deep. He goes for 19 and RCB are 140/4
Virat Kohli welcomes Andre Russell with a maximum over long on boundary. It was a back of the length delivery from Russell and Kohli muscles that one away for a six. He moves to 46 and RCB are 139/3
Virat Kohli and Mandeep Singh have brought up their 50-run partnership for the fourth wicket. Kohli is unbeaten at 40 while Mandeep is at 19. RCB are 133/3 after 17
With five more overs left in the innings, Kohli would be looking to get runs quickly. He is 33 off 25 while Mandeep Singh is playing at 6 in 10 balls
A length delivery pitched outside off-stump from Mitchell Johnson and Virat Kohli dirves that through the cover area. He hit the same shot earlier as well. Kohli needs to stay at the crease for a longer time if RCB need to put a competitive total on the board
Andre Russell cleans up Manan Vohra for a golden duck. That one just came in a bit and Vohra played it on to his stumps. RCB have lost three wickets after the strategic timeout
Andre Russell celebrates his 30th birthday with the big wicket of Brendon McCullum. He departs for 38 and RCB are 74/2. Dinesh Karthik takes an easy catch behind the stumps to send McCullum back in the hut
Kolkata Knight Riders get the breakthrough just after strategic timeout and it's Quinton de Kock who has to depart for 29 after Shubman Gill takes a good catch in the deep. RCB lose their first for 67
Another one from Brendon McCullum and this time it's Piyush Chawla who has been hit for a maximum. Royal Challengers Bangalore move to 67/0 after 8
Brendon McCullum gets a maximum on that one from Kuldeep Yadav. A tossed up delivery from Kuldeep and McCullum sits on the knee and hammers that away for a huge maximum
Royal Challengers Bangalore get 40 in the powerplay overs. The more important thing about this is that they haven't lost any wickets. KKR on the other hand have used four bowlers in first 6 overs
Brendon McCullum has started to take on the Kolkata Knight Riders. He has dispatched some bad deliveries to the boundary rope. Both these players can score runs quickly and they should get as many as they in first 6
Quinton de Kock gets two boundaries on the trot against Sunil Narine. Royal Challengers Bangalore get 8 runs from that Narine over and they are 9/0 after 2.
After one over, Royal Challengers Bangalore are 1/0. Piyush Chawla has kept it tight in this over. McCullum looked a bit more careful against Chawla. Sunil Narine has the ball for the second overs and KKR are going with spin from both ends
Brendon McCullum and Quinton de Kock are out in the middle and they will begin the proceedings for Royal Challengers Bangalore. For Kolkata Knight Riders, it would be Piyush Chawla who will bowl the first over
"Would have bowled first too, difficult ground to defend. Got to take up the challenge, toss is only in your control that much. Not bad toss to lose actually. Will stay similar throughout as DK mentioned. Hopefully it wears off and spinners get purchase. This ground has always been difficult to defend, we've done that to other teams too. Hats off to them (CSK). Our bowlers have put it behind them. AB is sick, Southee replaces him. Negi replaced by Vohra. M Ashwin comes in for Washington Sundar. AB has got a bit of a viral fever going. If he could, he would play with one leg and one hand. But he's taken the call himself, have to respect that," Kohli said.
"We're bowling first. Looks a dry wicket, make best use of it initially. Let's see how it goes. Same team. Trust the same team, wish they bring the goods for us. Important we trust the people we play in the XI. Picked a bunch of players we believe in," says Dk during the toss.
Royal Challengers Bangalore (Playing XI): Quinton de Kock(w), Virat Kohli(c), Manan Vohra, Corey Anderson, Mandeep Singh, Colin de Grandhomme, Murugan Ashwin, Tim Southee, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal
Kolkata Knight Riders (Playing XI): Chris Lynn, Sunil Narine, Robin Uthappa, Nitish Rana, Dinesh Karthik(w/c), Shubman Gill, Andre Russell, Shivam Mavi, Piyush Chawla, Mitchell Johnson, Kuldeep Yadav
Kolkata Knight Riders: No changesRoyal Challengers Bangalore: AB de Villiers out, Tim Southee in; M Ashwin comes in; Negi goes out and Manan Vohra comes in, McCullum is in for Corey Anderson
In Bengaluru, Dinesh Karthik has won the toss and KKR will field first against Royal Challengers Bangalore.
The last time these two sides met earlier in the season, KKR won by 4 wickets. Batting first, RCB scored 176 with 44 from AB de Villiers, 43 from Brendon McCullum and 37 from Mandeep Singh. In reply, KKR were given a solid start by half-centurion Sunil Narine from just 19 balls. In the middle order, Nitish Rana and DK scored 34 and 35 respectively for the win. This despite Chris Woakes picking up three wickets
In the practice session for RCB, Corey Anderson spent some time on Saturday practicing away from the nets. On one of the side wickets, he used a yellow bib as a marker - first placed at back-of-length and then in the wide yorker region for a right-hander. He then discussed things with head coach Daniel Vettori, who kept a close eye on the proceedings. Colin de Grandhomme was tasked with the same drill but for a shorter period of time.
In the early game on the day, Rajasthan Royals are facing Sunrisers Hyderabad. Batting first, SRH are up to 126/3 after 16 overs. They lost Dhawan early before a 92-run stand between Williamson and Hales. Follow live
Yuzvendra Chahal on Saturday: "Last match was disappointing for us. Because in seven overs they needed 100 runs [99]. But still, it is okay, only six matches are done. There are still eight matches [to play]. If you see in 2015 and 2016, how we bounced back. So it is okay. "
KKR's Robin Uthappa is 31 runs away from becoming the second player to score 2000 runs for the side in IPL. He is also 59 runs from 4000 IPL runs
On Monday, Delhi Daredevils will take on Chennai Super Kings. DD are on their way to Pune for the matchup. CSK come into it with a defeat to MI on Saturday.
Overall: KKR have won 12 matches and RCB have won 9
At M Chinnaswamy Stadium: KKR have won 4 matches and RCB have won four as well
Possible lineup for RCB vs KKR
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Quinton de Kock, Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Corey Anderson, Mandeep Singh, Colin de Grandhomme, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Umesh Yadav, Mohammad Siraj, Kulwant Khejroliya
Kolkata Knight Riders: Chris Lynn, Sunil Narine, Robin Uthappa, Nitish Rana, Dinesh Karthik, Shubman Gill, Andre Russell, Kuldeep Yadav, Piyush Chawla, Tom Curran, Vinay Kumar
Washington Sundar hasn't had the greatest starts to his RCB journey. "I trust a lot in my preparations, just need to back to the nets, work hard and do my homework. Executing plans is another thing that I need to be working on," he tells Rahul Sadhu in a conversation on how RCB can turn things around, his bowling, challenge in the powerplay overs and how to improve in the death overs. Read more
In the four matches that have been played in Bengaluru this season, teams batting first have scored 155, 217, 174 & 205. On three occasions, the team batting second chased the runs down. Might be great for the batsmen and the fans but good luck being the bowler!
Before Royal Challengers Bangalore take on Kolkata Knight Riders in the evening, Rajasthan Royals will face Sunrisers Hyderabad in Jaipur. Follow that with our live blog here
Today's result can make a big difference to the points table. If Royal Challengers Bangalore win, both RCB and KKR will be at three six points from seven games. If KKR win, a clear difference between the top four and bottom half can be seen. IPL Points Table 2018