Royal Challengers Bangalore will play Kolkata Knight Riders in the 36th league match of Indian Premier League 2023. Both teams have produced some great encounters in the past and the fans would expect the same in this match too.
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Kolkata’s spinner Sunil Narine has been a regular figure in these fixtures. He joined KKR in 2012 and is still playing for the same franchise. Narine is one of the greatest bowlers to ever play in the tournament, he will carry the responsibility to take the wickets of the important batters of RCB.
Sine remolding his action, Narine has been more of an economical bowler than a wicket-taker. Narine has scalped 158 wickets in IPL history at a terrific economy of 6.71. This season has not been great so far for the mystery spinner but he is someone who can change the course of the match in just a single spell.
Sunil Narine vs RCB Stats
Narine has been a part of some of KKR’s famous wins over RCB. The spinner possesses a brilliant record as well against the Bangalore franchise. He has so far played in 18 matches against the Faf de Plessis-led side. In those 18 matches, he has scalped 23 wickets at a splendid economy of 6.18.
Narine’s average against RCB is 18.26, whereas his strike-rate has been 17.74. He has scalped three four-wicket halls as well. Narine has been a mystery for the Bangalore franchise over the years and he will again be Kolkata’s wild card tonight in Bengaluru.
RCB vs KKR Player Battle
Bangalore’s batting trio of du Plessis, Virat Kohli and Glenn Maxwell will carry the responsibility to score the major chunk of runs for the side. All three of them are experienced players and their battle against Narine will be an exciting one to watch out for. Apart from these three, only wicket-keeper Dinesh Karthik has got a decent sample size against Narine.
| Player | Runs | Balls Faced | Average | Strike Rate | 6 | 4 | Dismissals |
| Virat Kohli | 102 | 102 | 25.50 | 100.00 | 1 | 9 | 4 |
| Faf du Plessis | 37 | 46 | 37.00 | 80.43 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Glenn Maxwell | 59 | 59 | 19.66 | 100.00 | 1 | 5 | 3 |
| Dinesh Karthik | 41 | 34 | 41.00 | 120.58 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
It is clear that Narine’s record against all four of them has been absolutely brilliant. Narine would want to improve upon this but the conditions in Chinnaswamy Stadium won’t make it easy for him.
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