IPL 2022, RCB vs KKR Highlights: Dinesh Karthik finishes things in style; Bangalore beat Kolkata by 3 wickets

The wickets keep coming for RCB and this time it is Sam Billings, who'll take the long walk back to the dugout. Harshal Patel pitches it short and the batter gets a top edge while trying to pull as the ball lands safely in Kohli's hands. KKR: 83/7 (12 overs)

Hasaranga offers a bit of flight and Russell gets down on his knee and muscles it over the mid-wicket fence. Can Russell get going as KKR reach 83/6 after 11 overs.

All hopes will be on Andre Russell and he starts off with a boundary. Siraj bowls it short, outside off and the all-rounder cuts it over extra-cover for a four. KKR: 76/6 (10 overs)

Two-in-two for Wanindu Hasaranga. Sheldon Jackson is stumped on a golden duck. KKR: 67/6 (9 overs)

More trouble for KKR as Wanindu Hasaranga strikes again in his second over. Sunil Narine is the man dismissed as he walks back to the pavilion after scoring 12 (8). KKR: 67/5 (8.5 overs)

A decent over from Kolkata Knight Riders' perspective as Akash Deep concedes 12 runs in his over. He has so far given away 35 runs and picked two wickets in the three overs he has bowled so far. KKR: 58/4 (8 overs)

KKR on backfoot as they are 4 down with just 46 on the board. Shreyas Iyer is the last batter dismissed as he was caught on 13 (10). Wanindu Hasaranga gets his name in the wicket list as he scalps in his very first over of the contest. 

We are extremely sorry for the delay in updates. Coming back to the match, the powerplay overs are done and KKR have lost Venkatesh Iyer 10 (14), Ajinkya Rahane 9 (10). 

What happened in the final powerplay over?

Nitish Rana joins captain Ajinkya Rahane in the middle and the left-handed batter starts off with a SIX. Meanwhile, Akash Deep oversteps while delivering his third delivery and Rana makes the most out of the free-hit. He smashes the ball square of the wicket for a four. But Rana fails to go long and he is caught by David Willey in the same over as KKR add 44/3 in 6 overs.

“The wicket looks a lot drier than the first game, not as much live grass on the surface. I still feel it's going to be a good wicket. The boundary size isn't that big, straight is pretty small. If Kolkata can get a good base upfront and Andre Russell can come in, he is definitely going to clear and hit some big sixes here. I'll definitely bowl first. It does get wet here, quite tricky to control.”

Kolkata Knight Riders: Ajinkya Rahane, Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana, Shreyas Iyer(c), Sam Billings, Sheldon Jackson(w), Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Tim Southee, Umesh Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy 

Royal Challengers Bangalore: Faf du Plessis(c), Anuj Rawat, Virat Kohli, Dinesh Karthik(w), Sherfane Rutherford, Shahbaz Ahmed, Wanindu Hasaranga, David Willey, Harshal Patel, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj

RCB win toss, opt to bowl. 

“RCB franchise is always good, I played the second half last year. KKR is a good team, they have Shreyas Iyer, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine. They have big names, we are ready for the challenge. We played the previous game in the same venue. When we bowled in the second innings, there was dew. Sometimes it's really hard to bowl, but that's the challenge in cricket.”

“Great win against a very good team in CSK. It was more about adapting to conditions, it wasn't a regular Wankhede pitch. That's going to be the challenge throughout the tournament in the four different venues, who'll be the best team to adapt game-on-game. We'll have to do the same again at a new venue that I haven't been before. The real good thing (in the previous game) was we started each phase of the game brilliantly. With the ball, Umesh Yadav has been outstanding every time he gets an opportunity in the IPL. I see him being a real weapon for us and hopefully he can make some inroads into that powerful batting line-up today. He (Ramesh Kumar) is a great story, you'll see a lot more about him in the future. That is the amazing thing about IPL, finds talent in every corner of this amazing country. He's improved hugely. His hero is Sunil Narine and he has followed him around like a shadow. It's great to see him develop and other youngsters develop due to this tournament.”

Visuals of Kolkata Knight Riders players leaving for the venue. 

Virat Kohli on many occasions have built some big partnership against the Kolkata Knight Riders. In total, the former RCB skipper has been part of three 100-plus stand against the opponent. 

Will we see something similar from the 'King' tonight?

A late blitz by Dinesh Karthik helped RCB breach the 200-run-mark the other night. The wicketkeeper-batter scored an unbeaten 32 off 14 balls, which featured three boundaries and the same number of maximums.

"My aim is to hit as many boundaries as I can in the middle order. It is always a challenge, but it's an interesting one for everybody."

"My role is to achieve whatever we can in the backend of the game and try to do whatever is required for the team, either setting a target or helping win the game. So, that is what I will be focussing on," said Karthik on the 'Inside RCB' show on Star Sports.

The DY Patil Stadium, the venue for the contest, has big boundaries square of the wicket, and the length decreases as we move straight. 

We are less than an hour for the much-awaited toss. Here's our predicted XI from the clash:

RCB: Faf du Plessis (c), Anuj Rawat, Virat Kohli, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Sherfane Rutherford, Wanindu Hasaranga, David Willey, Harshal Patel, Shahbaz Ahmed, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj

KKR: Venkatesh Iyer, Ajinkya Rahane, Nitish Rana, Shreyas Iyer (c), Sam Billings, Andre Russell, Sheldon Jackson (wk), Sunil Narine, Shivam Mavi, Umesh Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy

The last time KKR and RCB did battle was during the Eliminator last year, in which Kolkata knocked out Bangalore in Kohli's last match as captain. With three balls remaining, KKR secured a close and thrilling win, cementing a place in the second Qualifier. 

Two new skippers in Shreyas Iyer and Faf du Plessis will battle for the captaincy bragging rights. While du Plessis has the experience of leading an international team, Iyer is looked upon as a potential future India captain. The IPL will go a long way in proving whether Iyer is meant for the top job or not. Whatever everyone has made of his captaincy so far, earlier with DC and now with KKR, there is promise.

Virat Kohli showed shades of his destructive self against Punjab Kings playing a crucial-41 run knock. And while he was to an extent overshadowed by his captain Faf du Plessis's brilliance, Kohli was slowly coming into his elements. Can he continue the same form against KKR? Well, Kohli and RCB fans surely would hope so.

Barring Mumbai Indians, no other IPL team will have any home advantage this year. But KKR can find happiness in the fact that they have not lost at the DY Patil Stadium. In both matches KKR have played at this venue, they are yet to lose a match and will be aiming for a hat-trick against RCB tonight.

MS Dhoni and Dinesh Karthik are the two most experienced wicketkeepers playing the IPL 2022, and tonight, DK has the chance to join Dhoni in an illustrious list of players. The RCB wicketkeeper is three away from affecting 150 dismissals in the IPL and if he gets there, he will become only the second WK after Dhoni to get to this landmark.

Having found a fresh lease of life, Ajinkya Rahane moved to KKR and started off in blazing manner scoring 44 off 34 balls in the opener. For someone has been let go off India's vice-captaincy and subsequently dropped from the team, this is Rahane's time to prove his detractors wrong. And he can quickly jump on the road to redemption. He needs 15 runs to become the 5th Indian batter to score 4000 IPL runs after MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Suresh Raina.

The way KKR bowled against Chennai Super Kings, you knew that this was a special unit. However, RCB boasts a stronger batting unit than CSK and whether KKR's bowlers will be able to lift their game against the likes of Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli remains to be seen.