Live Cricket Score - RCB vs KKR, Match 36, IPL 2023

Follow live scores, highlights, and updates from Match 36 of the 2023 IPL between RCB and KKR at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru. Swipe down or hit refresh for latest updates.

RCB lose by 21 runs at the Chinnaswamy! KKR earn themselves their first win since Rinku's heroics in Ahmedabad!

Death overs: RCB 179-8 (20 overs)

Dinesh Karthik remained RCB's last hope for a few overs, keeping up with the required rate and hitting the odd boundary to keep RCB in the game. However, his wicket extinguished RCB's hopes and eventually, with the tail batting, they fell comfortably short of their target by 21 runs, resulting in an embarrassing home defeat.

Middle overs: RCB 138-6 (15 overs)

80 runs in the 9-over period, and right after the powerplay, a stand of 55 off 34 between Kohli and Lomror brought the RCB gang roaring back. However, the wicket of Lomror dented them, and the wicket of Kohli caused a literal panic in the Chinnaswamy. The panic of the required rate was evident when Prabhudesai was run-out due to the indecision by him and his partner Dinesh Karthik. They now need 63 in five overs, and it's down to the experience of Dinesh Karthik to pull this off.

Powerplay: RCB 58-3 (6 overs)

RCB started with a flurry of boundaries, creaming the opening bowlers all around the park, but a bold move from Nitish Rana to get Suyash Sharma into the attack worked wonders -- the leg-spinner got rid of du Plessis, and Shahbaz Ahmed soon after. Chakravarthy got rid of Maxwell too, so despite the run-rate being almost 10 rpo, RCB had lost three crucial wickets in the powerplay.

INNINGS BREAK

Death overs: KKR 200-5 (20 overs)

It all looked a little dull when, despite losing only two wickets, Rana and Iyer were struggling for timing. However, Rana, who was dropped twice, launched an assault on the bowlers, creaming the 16th over from Harshal for 19, and the 17th over from Vyshak for 17. Both Rana and Iyer departed in the next over, a fabulous one by Hasaranga that only leaked three runs. However, despite the wicket of Russell (yorked by Siraj), Rinku Singh and David Wiese dealt lusty blows at the death to smash 15 runs off each of the last two overs, getting KKR to an even 200.

Middle overs: KKR 131-2 (15 overs)

AN impressive comeback from RCB after a disastrous powerplay, with Vyshak picking up Jagadeesan first, and then knocking over an imperious-looking Jason Roy, bringing two new batsmen to the crease. Nitish Rana and Venkatesh Iyer led the recovery, and maintained a good run-rate to set up for the death overs, but it still remains below 9, projecting a score of 180. Can KKR touch the 200-run mark? It seems to be the bare minimum to defend at the Chinnaswamy for a few years now! Two dropped catches -- Siraj off Harshal and vice versa (both of Nitish Rana), haven't helped, but unless KKR can get 200, things look difficult for them.

Powerplay: KKR 66-0 (6 overs)

It was a quiet start, believe it or not. The purple cap holder bowling at you does that, and he was duly respected with 13 runs off two overs. The 4th over, bowled by Willey, however, was taken for 17 by Willey. An effortless flicked six later, he played out an over from Hasaranga with a few scares, but Shahbaz Ahmed's next over read 1.6.6.6.0.6. 25 runs to end the powerplay, and Kohli's gamble hadn't quite worked out. Jason Roy had taken off, nearly getting to a half-century in the powerplay.

Impact Subs:

Royal Challengers Bangalore Subs: Faf du Plessis, Akash Deep, Karn Sharma, Finn Allen, Anuj Rawat

Kolkata Knight Riders Subs: Mandeep Singh, Litton Das, Anukul Roy, Suyash Sharma, Kulwant Khejroliya,

Teams:

Kolkata Knight Riders (Playing XI): N Jagadeesan(w), Jason Roy, Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana(c), Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, David Wiese, Vaibhav Arora, Umesh Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy

Royal Challengers Bangalore (Playing XI): Virat Kohli(c), Shahbaz Ahmed, Glenn Maxwell, Mahipal Lomror, Dinesh Karthik(w), Suyash Prabhudessai, Wanindu Hasaranga, David Willey, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj

TOSS: RCB win the toss and opt to bowl first

A rivalry with a history

You know it. Gambhir-Kohli. 49 all-out. It's nothing new. The only new thing is that RCB, big bad RCB is now turning up the heat, and KKR are cowering at the bottom of the points table. Well, not quite bottom, but almost. And if they lose today, it's possible they might end up at the bottom. KKR have got their 2 Ws, thanks to miracles and one-man shows.

That hasn't happened in a while. It can't happen everyday. RCB have finally started to prosper in the key moments, and have been on the right side of a few humdingers. They're certainly the favourites, but despite their batting strengths, their bowling, barring Siraj, is a concern, and given the flatness of the Chinnaswamy, it is once again going to be a battle of the batsmen, and given RCB's historical and even recent struggles against spin, this just might be more of a contest than we might think.