IPL 2025 AI Simulation | Kolkata Knight Riders defeat Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Match 58 at Chinnaswamy

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Rinku Singh received the man of the match award for his unbeaten 60 for KKR in a chase of 180 against RCB at the Chinnaswamy

According to Artificial Intelligence, the Indian Premier League is set to return with a bang on May 17 through the renewal of the famous rivalry between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Kolkata Knight Riders. The hosts put up 180 at the Chinnaswamy which was undone by a Rinku Singh special.

Pitch and Weather

The Chinnaswamy has garnered a reputation for being a true batter's ground, with its short boundaries and flat surface that more often than not allows the ball to come nicely onto the willow. Even though there were threat of rains with regular showers in the lead-up to the encounter, the affair went through without any pauses and hiccups in a humid Bengaluru as temperatures soared to 30 °C.

Toss

Kolkata Knight Riders won the toss and elected to bowl first.

Lineups

RCB XII: Salt, Kohli, Agarwal, Patidar (c), Jitesh, David, Shepherd, Pandya, Kumar, Dayal, Hazlewood, Suyash

KKR XII: Gurbaz, Narine, Rahane (c), Raghuvanshi, Iyer, Rinku, Russell, Ramandeep, Chakravarthy, Arora, Rana, Johnson

Match Report

In a crucial encounter with fates of both teams hanging by a thread, it is the Purple brigade that emerged triumphant to keep their playoff hopes alive by scripting a dramatic chase on the back of an explosive knock from Rinku Singh after Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Sunil Narine had set the stage with their opening stand.

Kolkata Knight Riders won the toss and sent Royal Challengers Bengaluru in to bat first, with Virat Kohli and Phil Salt renewing their partnership at the top of the order after the latter missed some games due to injury. The duo picked up exactly where they had left off as boundaries galore pushed the team score to 70/0 within the first six overs with the Englishman playing aggressor. Howebver, just when the team seemed set for a mammoth score, Varun Chakravarthy came back to haunt the hosts by scalping Salt and Mayank Agarwal in quick succession -- the Indian managing just 12 upon his comeback to RCB as a replacement for fellow Karnataka batter Devdutt Padikkal. Nevertheless, Kohli kept anchoring the side along and brought up a 40-ball fifty, even as skipper Rajat Patidar and wicket-keeper Jitesh Sharma fell too without much damage. When Harshit Rana sent Kohli packing for 58 with the death overs beckoning, the momentum was thoroughly in favour of the visitors but overseas power-hitters Tim David and Romario Shepherd took it upon themselves to shift the tide. Brisk knocks of 22*(14) and 24(12) respectively, combined with a slew of extras that took the innings tally to 18, ensured RCB reached a competitive total of 180/7 at the end of their 20 overs.

KKR’s chase began with a bang as well, as Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Sunil Narine wheeled away a 50-run opening stand in the powerplay before Josh Hazlewood dispatched the Windies all-rounder to bring the contest back in balance. The experienced Ajinkya Rahane and rookie Angkrish Raghuvanshi played brief steady hands to provide able company to Gurbaz and KKR was cruising at 120/3 in 12 overs with less than eight required per over, forcing Patidar to experiment and introduce Shepherd to the mix. The medium-pacer did not disappoint, as he scalped both Venkatesh Iyer and Andre Russell to make the team slip to 130/5 and be left staring at a tall order given the quality of RCB's death bowling. The situation demanded a match-winner, and as has been the case over the years it was Rinku Singh who put his hand up to have the final say. Content with knocking the ball around while wickets fell, the finisher came into his own in the final four overs. The defining moments came in the 18th over, when three mammoth sixes from Rinku dismantling Hazlewood's cheery record at the death and bringing up a 28-ball half-century for the 28-year-old. Even though Yash Dayal threatened to pull off another miracle with eight required in the final over, one final boundary from Rinku sealed the deal with three balls to spare.