RCB vs KKR IPL 2026 highlights: Virat Kohli scores 100 help Royal Challengers Bengaluru beat Kolkata Knight Riders by 6 wickets

Well, while Tim David has fallen, Virat Kohli has scored his ninth IPL century. Well, every time there are a couple of ducks seems like Kohli will respond with a century. Something similar happened in ODIs, and here it is the same again. This chase has been defenitely one man show from Kohli

Vaibhav Arora is clearly having an off-day today. He had his moments through the tournament, and today things have not gone to plan for him. Meanwhile, Kohli is racing away with his innings. While Raghuvanshi had support in the first innings for Kohli, it has been one army. Sunil Narine has come to bowl his final over here.

Bengaluru are now doing this quite easily. Padikkal, since that catch dropped, has raised his tempo too. Rahane is bringing in the bowling changes, but not a lot is happening. Kohli at the other end, too, is doing what he does best often, which is to manage the middle overs and set up the game for the final overs.

Vaibhav Arora spilt a simple catch of Devdutt Padikkal if they have to win this game, Kolkata has to take those opportunities. Although Padikkal has not looked at his best so far, Kohli has been racing away in his innings. This chase comes into Kohli's territory, and he is pretty capable of matching what Raghuvanshi did in the first innings.

Kartik Tyagi has picked up the wicket of Bethell, who was undone by the pace of Tyagi. The top edge of the bat hit his helmet and popped up, and the keeper completed the catch. That is the wicket Kolkata needed early on. Devdutt Padikkal has walked into the middle, and Sunil Narine has been introduced right away. Captaincy has been quite sharp from Rahane so far.

We are done with the opening over here, and Saurbh Dubey took the new ball for Kolkata, and he was able to get a lot of swing in the surface. Vaibhav Arora has the new ball from the other end, and he too can swing the ball both ways. As we update, Virat Kohli is off the mark with a boundary today.

It is a very good score that the KKR has got. All credit must go to Raghuvanshi, and the way he batted in this innings, he acted as a pillar, and other batters played cameos around him, and the most important one came from Rinku Singh at the end. It will be a tricky chase for RCB to join us after the break.

This is a good 50-run partnership between Rinku Singh and Raghuvanshi. When Rinku walked in, he had to play at a certain tempo, and that is exactly what he did. He increased the scoring rate, helping Raghuvanshi to have a bit of breathing space before both could launch in the final overs.

Rasikh has broken the partnership. It was a fuller delivery, which Green tried to play across the line and lost his stumps. Rinku Singh is the new batter who has walked into the middle for the Knight Riders. Raghuvanshi continues on his merry way and gets to a half-century from 32 deliveries.

We have reached the first strategic time out, and it must be said, Kolkata have handled this pretty well. Raghuvanshi espically has especially played some proper cricketing shots, which is what is the need of this pitch. For Bengaluru, though the move to bring in Duffy has not worked, and he has been conceding a lot of runs.

Josh Hazlewood has picked up the wicket of Ajinkya Rahane. It was a hard length delivery, which Rahane tried to pull and got on high on the bat, and the bowler completed the catch. Kolkata have lost two wickets in the powerplay; they need to build a partnership here. They would want to get around 170-180; this is not a 220-240 surface.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar has taken the new ball for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru, and he will get some swing and seam movement on this surface. With the form he is in, he will trouble Ajinkya Rahane. However, in the final delivery, Bhuvneshwar pitched it up further, which Rahane drove for a boundary through the covers.

Ajinkya Rahane(c), Finn Allen, Cameron Green, Angkrish Raghuvanshi(w), Rovman Powell, Manish Pandey, Rinku Singh, Sunil Narine, Anukul Roy, Vaibhav Arora, Kartik Tyagi

Rajat Patidar wins toss and opts to bowl first vs Ajinkya Rahane's Kolkata Knight Riders in Raipur

Toss at 8:30 and match to start at 8:45 PM IST

The body is good. Even though IPL is long, you have a decent amount of breaks to kind of reflect and relax and just get your mind off cricket at some times. (On KKR's 4-match winning streak) I think it's all 12 guys on the team who are getting up and trying to contribute in whatever way they can, trying to stick to their roles. And, obviously, when you win one and two, you're on a roll, so you continue doing that. So hopefully we can continue the same momentum. It's going to be tough beating RCB because they are playing good cricket, but I think it's all about how you start, whether you bat or you bowl. (How much does your batting inform your bowling or is it just a matter of experience with the ball over the years?) I think it's a bit of both, but, obviously with the experience, you have a little more insight, because you see guys that are going out and beating the ball and then you have to come and try to bowl an over for four or five. It's tough, but it's more about reflecting on your game, what you can do, and focus on what is best for you at that point in time. (Are you a guy that sits with the analyst?) I love watching the game, so I watch probably nearly every single game, so you observe batsmen and obviously you see who is in form, who's not out of form. So obviously you have to plan, but I think it's more of the experience and watching the cricket live.

Well we have an update rain has stopped and pitch inspection is at 8:15 PM IST

It's very necessary when you do well in the previous matches for your confidence and when you have confidence, I think I said it before as well, it always helps you to execute better. But of course, [bowling] is always there. That six with a bat, I think not just from that perspective of the match, but again when there are a few matches and situations comes like this, I can feel that I've done it before and I can do it again. (How do you stay fresh and ensure that if and when you get to the playoffs, you're still up and ready to go?) I think it's very necessary how you prepare for that before the season and then when you come into the season, the practice sessions that you want to do it or you don't want to do it depends on your feel. I haven't done many practice sessions once the tournament started. So I think that's one of the ways to keep myself fresh. And of course, there are physios and trainers who have their own ways of recovering and giving their plan. (Are you an analytics based guy or are you an instinctive guy or mix as a bowler?) Mix, I would say. It's the first experience and instinct. And of course, there are a few things which I would say are trend from the data. You don't have to really necessarily follow that. But when you know that there's something like that and that comes into the match, you can prepare for that as well. (You're coming up against a guy like Finn Allen today in good touch. How do you approach that battle?) He's a very destructive batsman. Yes, again, when you have a batsman like this, it's also an opportunity to get them out. But again, the way wicket played in the last match, it's going to be the same. It won't be easy for him. But of course, if it's going to be flat, it won't be easy for bowlers. And yes, there are a few plans against him, what we had. And like we know he's a destructive batsman. We'll look to get him out initially.

"Tim David, All-rounder, Royal Challengers Bengaluru has been fined 30% of his applicable match fee and has also accumulated two demerit points for breaching Level 1 of the IPL’s Code of Conduct for Players and Team officials," the IPL posted in a statement.

"I have always believed that the team wears the look of the captain. Under Virat Kohli, every player had to be like Virat Kohli. If anyone went out there and looked a little flat, they would not be playing the next Test match. So everyone responded to Virat's aggression," he added.

"So he is one of those first guys who kept saying, 'We don't care about what people say and why.' But he is also very sensitive. Maybe it is a good thing as well, because if he hears that kind of criticism or something negative, it spurs him on to get that next big hundred," he added.

“I am sure that the 70’s and 80’s since whenever cricket has been played, and till now, the basics are the same. I know the format has changed, it’s become a bit difficult for the bowlers because the demand of this game (T20) is different. It’s a 20-over game and the effort is to score more runs but the art of bowling—the basics like swinging the ball, having a good gather, what we generally call a good smooth action and someone having express pace or bounce—I think that is still the same,” concluded Kumar.

“I am not thinking about a comeback for India. It has been many years since I have stopped keeping or making long-term goals because whenever I have done that, it has never worked for me. I am happy that there are 200 matches, so many wickets, in the power play and at the death. I think it’s all a reward for what I have done over the years. There have been good years and bad years also. Honestly, at this point of time, I am not feeling anything special. Of course, I would be lying if I said I will not feel it later on. I think these memories will come in handy later. But at this point of time, I think it’s very normal for me,” said Kumar while speaking in a video released by Royal Challengers Bengaluru social media handles.

“Every team has plans against Virat Kohli because he’s one of the best players in the world. But the challenge is that he knows exactly how to counter those plans as well,” Watson told reporters on the eve of the match.

"We’re hoping he might play an aggressive shot early like he did in the last game, although the chances of that are probably remote because Virat is so disciplined. He’s extraordinary. His hunger to be the best and his intensity on every single ball are still burning very brightly. We know we need to be switched on from ball one because he’s someone who can set up a match incredibly well for his team," Watson added.

"From our position midway through the tournament to the cricket we have played in recent games, especially the last few, it has been impressive to watch our group unite across all facets...We are quietly confident in our skills and trajectory, giving us a strong chance to reach our goals. We are optimistic, knowing IPL history shows teams can reach the finals after slow starts. The key is continuing to deliver complete games like we did against DC"

Ajinkya Rahane (c), Finn Allen, Angkrish Raghuvanshi (wk), Cameron Green, Rovman Powell, Manish Pandey, Rinku Singh, Sunil Narine, Anukul Roy, Kartik Tyagi, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakaravarthy/Navdeep Saini