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The highly anticipated showdown between Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) is poised to unfold at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Friday, March 29, marking the 10th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 season. This fixture holds immense significance as both teams are buoyed by victories in their respective opening encounters and are eager to maintain their winning streaks.
Historical rivalry between RCB and KKR
Since the inception of the IPL in 2008, RCB and KKR have faced off on 32 occasions. Their matches have been marked by fierce competition, with KKR holding a narrow advantage, winning 18 times, while RCB has secured victory in 14 matches. At the renowned M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, KKR has historically had the upper hand, claiming victory 6 times compared to RCB’s 4.
Dinesh Karthik’s insights on key matchups
Prior to the highly anticipated clash, RCB’s standout player Dinesh Karthik offered his insights on the top three matchups to keep an eye on in the KKR vs RCB encounter. Adding a humorous twist, Karthik playfully emphasized the potential showdown between, the KKR mentor Gautam Gambhir and RCB’s talismanic batter Virat Kohli as the highlight of the match.
“Virat Kohli vs Gautam Gambhir,” Karthik said in the RCB’s match preview video.
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This alludes to an incident from the IPL 2023 season when Gambhir, then mentoring the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), clashed with Kohli following an on-field disagreement involving LSG pacer Naveen-ul-Haq. Karthik amusingly anticipates a rematch between Kohli and Gambhir as KKR squares off against RCB on Friday evening.
For the second duel, Karthik highlighted the potential battle between KKR bowler Mitchell Starc, the IPL’s most expensive buy and RCB’s Glenn Maxwell. The third duel he mentioned will be between himself and KKR’s mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy.
“Mitchell Starc to Glenn Maxwell will be very interesting. Varun Chakravarthy to me (Dinesh Karthik) will be very interesting,” the 38-year-old concluded.
Stakes high as home teams dominate in IPL 2024
In the ongoing IPL, a total of nine matches have been played where the home teams emerged victorious in the end. While RCB will strive to maintain this streak, KKR will be eager to break it and continue their dominance over Bengaluru in the cash-rich league.