Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) are set to face each other in Match No.9 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 on Thursday, April 6 at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
Both teams have got off to contrasting starts in the tournament. The Knight Riders, led by Nitish Rana, lost to Shikhar Dhawan’s Punjab Kings (PBKS) by 7 runs at the PCA Stadium in Mohali. Recently, the Men in Gold and Purple were dealt with a blow after their star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan opted out of the tournament.
The Challengers, on the other hand, got off to a flying start after beating five-time IPL champions Mumbai Indians (MI) by eight wickets on Sunday at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore. Virat Kohli scored an unbeaten 82 and helped his team chase down 172 with 22 balls to spare.
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KKR vs RCB head-to-head record
The Knight Riders started their journey against RCB with a massive 140-run win in the opening game of the inaugural IPL. But of late, RCB have got the better of the Knights quite a few times.
Here is a look at how the current RR vs PBKS head-to-head record stands:
| Matches Played | 31 |
| KKR won | 17 |
| RCB won | 14 |
| Tie | 0 |
| No result | 0 |
KKR vs RCB IPL match results
From 2017 to 2019, KKR beat RCB in four matches in a row. But in their last seven meetings, the Challengers defeated the Knights five times.
Here is a more detailed look at how this rivalry has unfolded:
| Date | Winner | Won by | Venue |
| 30-Mar-22 | Royal Challengers Bangalore | 3 Wickets | Mumbai |
| 11-Oct-21 | Kolkata Knight Riders | 4 Wickets | Sharjah |
| 20-Sep-21 | Kolkata Knight Riders | 9 Wickets | Abu Dhabi |
| 18-Apr-21 | Royal Challengers Bangalore | 38 Runs | Chennai |
| 21-Oct-20 | Royal Challengers Bangalore | 8 Wickets | Abu Dhabi |
| 12-Oct-20 | Royal Challengers Bangalore | 82 Runs | Sharjah |
| 19-Apr-19 | Royal Challengers Bangalore | 10 runs | Kolkata |
| 05-Apr-19 | Kolkata Knight Riders | 5 Wickets | Bengaluru |
| 29-Apr-18 | Kolkata Knight Riders | 6 Wickets | Bengaluru |
| 08-Apr-18 | Kolkata Knight Riders | 4 Wickets | Kolkata |
| 07-May-17 | Kolkata Knight Riders | 6 Wickets | Bengaluru |
| 23-Apr-17 | Kolkata Knight Riders | 82 Runs | Kolkata |
| 16-May-16 | Royal Challengers Bangalore | 9 Wickets | Kolkata |
| 02-May-16 | Kolkata Knight Riders | 5 Wickets | Bangalore |
| 02-May-15 | Royal Challengers Bangalore | 7 Wickets | Bangalore |
| 11-Apr-15 | Royal Challengers Bangalore | 3 Wickets | Kolkata |
| 22-May-14 | Kolkata Knight Riders | 30 Runs | Kolkata |
| 24-Apr-14 | Kolkata Knight Riders | 2 Runs | Sharjah |
| 12-May-13 | Kolkata Knight Riders | 5 Wickets | Ranchi |
| 11-Apr-13 | Royal Challengers Bangalore | 8 Wickets | Bangalore |
| 28-Apr-12 | Kolkata Knight Riders | 47 Runs | Kolkata |
| 10-Apr-12 | Kolkata Knight Riders | 42 Runs | Bangalore |
| 14-May-11 | Royal Challengers Bangalore | 4 Wickets | Bangalore |
| 22-Apr-11 | Royal Challengers Bangalore | 9 Wickets | Kolkata |
| 10-Apr-10 | Royal Challengers Bangalore | 7 Wickets | Bangalore |
| 14-Mar-10 | Kolkata Knight Riders | 7 Wickets | Kolkata |
| 12-May-09 | Royal Challengers Bangalore | 6 Wickets | Centurion |
| 29-Apr-09 | Royal Challengers Bangalore | 5 Wickets | Durban |
| 08-May-08 | Kolkata Knight Riders | 5 Runs | Kolkata |
| 18-Apr-08 | Kolkata Knight Riders | 140 Runs | Bangalore |
KKR vs RCB IPL stats
Virat Kohli is the leading run-scorer in matches between RCB and KKR. Back in 2019, Kohli also scored a hundred at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Chris Gayle has also dominated the Knights to a large extent. The likes of Gautam Gambhir, AB de Villiers and Jacques were also in the list.
Most runs
| Player Name | Runs |
| Virat Kohli | 786 |
| Chris Gayle | 631 |
| Gautam Gambhir | 530 |
| AB de Villiers | 475 |
| Jacques Kallis | 420 |
Most wickets
The wily Sunil Narine is the leading wicket-taker in matches between RCB and KKR. Narine has 21 wickets to his name and will have a chance to add to his tally. Yuzvendra Chahal, Vinay Kumar, Jacques Kallis and Umesh Yadav are also there in the list.
| Player Name | Wickets |
| Sunil Narine | 21 |
| Yuzvendra Chahal | 19 |
| Vinay Kumar | 17 |
| Jacques Kallis | 13 |
| Umesh Yadav | 11 |
Best match in the Kolkata Knight Riders vs Royal Challengers Bangalore head-to-head
Here is a look at how the match unfolded:
Game No.13 – KKR beat RCB by 2 runs
Back in 2014 when the first half of the IPL took place in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), KKR beat the Challengers by two runs at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. After being put in to bat first, KKR lost the early wickets of skipper Gautam Gambhir and Manish Pandey. But an 80-run partnership between Chris Lynn and Jacques Kallis restored sanity for the Knights.
Robin Uthappa and Suryakumar Yadav played cameos of 22 and 24 not out, helping KKR post a score of 150 for seven. Varun Aaron was the pick of the RCB bowlers with figures of 4-0-16-3.
The Challengers lost only five wickets in their run-chase, but their batters could hardly step on the gas. Vinay Kumar picked up two wickets for the Knights while Umesh Yadav, Sunil Narine and Kallis picked up one wicket apiece.
With nine to win off the last over, Kumar gave away only six runs and also got the wicket of AB de Villiers, who could have taken the match away from KKR. Lynn also took a brilliant catch in the deep.
