Highlights IPL 2017, KKR vs RCB, cricket scores and updates: KKR thump RCB by 82 runs

This is only the second time both teams got all out in an IPL match.

Other instance: RR vs DC, Nagpur, 2010

23/04/2013: Highest IPL total (RCB – 263/5)

23/04/2017: Lowest IPL total (RCB – 49/10

Coulter-Nile is named the Man of the Match!

Virat Kohli: Our worst batting performance, it really hurts. After the kind of half that we had, we thought we could capitalise and chase it down. Reckless batting. I can’t say anything at the moment. It was that bad. This is just not acceptable. The sightscreen is very small here, one guy got up as the bowler was loading up, that distracted me. Still it wasn’t a big deal. That was just one down. Nine guys could have done the job. There’s nothing to review anything about the second half, it was that bad. We need to forget it and move forward. I’m sure we won’t bat like that again in the tournament. After the start they got, the spinners did well. Restricting them to 130 was a good effort. We’re going back home for a couple of games. We’ve got back-to-back games, need to try and win those to get some momentum.

Collective brain fade or wot? Bowled out in less than 10 overs, not one batsman into double figures. Mindbogglingly disastrous by RCB.

— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) April 23, 2017

Gee, Kohli is emotional.......

— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) April 23, 2017

This is the first time in IPL history no player from a team has made at least 10 runs in an innings of a match. 

Lowest totals in IPL:

49  by Royal Challengers Bangalore v Kolkata Knight Riders at Kolkata in 2017*

58 by Rajasthan Royals v Royal Challengers Bangalore at Cape Town in 2009

67 by Kolkata Knight Riders v Mumbai Indians at Mumbai in 2008

A pitch freshened by light rain created havoc. RCB bowled out in less than 10 overs and for a measly 49. 20 wickets have fallen in this match. To spin and pace. Some match this.

No words. Incredible. Where were #RCB tonight?

— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) April 23, 2017

701898020250 - not any phone number.

It is RCB batsmen's scores. #KKRvRCB

— Bharath Seervi (@SeerviBharath) April 23, 2017

OUT! That’s it! KKR win by 82 runs! What a bowling performance. What captaincy from Gambhir and what a match! Length delivery outside off, Chahal drives it away from the body but gets an outside edge to second slip where Manish Pandey takes a good catch. Gambhir goes bonkers in celebration. De Grandhomme too goes wild. Kohli describes it as ‘Shocking Batting’ performance!

OUT! De Grandhomme sends back Mills. RCB in absolute tatters!  Good length delivery outside off, Mills stays in the crease and looks to go downtown, doesn’t connect it off the middle and Kuldeep Yadav pouches a good running catch at long off. What a poor….Poor batting performance this!

After 9 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 48/8 ( Tymal Mills 2 , Sreenath Aravind 4)

After a couple of outswingers, Woakes brings one back in and the plan workes as Badree is trapped in front. Woakes nearly has another one but Aravind’s checked shot flies over extra cover for four. A couple of bouncers on either side of the risky shot are left alone. 5 runs and a wicket off the over.

Trying to think of a more disastrous batting performance than RCB's tonite. Any?

— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) April 23, 2017

Feels like the first hour of a Test match! Wonderful to see this kind of pace bowling in T20s! #IPL

— Jigar Mehta (@jigsactin) April 23, 2017

OUT! Woakes gets his 3rd! Badree is trapped LBW! This is Carnage. This is brilliant bowling. Length delivery outside off, tails back in after landing. Badree stays in his crease and looks to flick but is done in by the inward movement. He misses and is hit right in front.

After 8 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 43/7 ( Samuel Badree 0 , Tymal Mills 1)

The KKR pacers are on fire. De Grandhomme too got substantial movement and he got the wicket of Negi in that over. Mills gave full monty to a couple of deliveries but missed. Just 3 runs and a wicket off the over.

Lowest score in IPL Rajasthan Royals 58 vs RCB. That dubious record under threat tonight

42 is the lowest score at which a team has lost first seven wickets in an IPL match. The previous lowest was 43 by RCB against KKR at Bangalore in 2008.

OUT! De Grandhomme joins the party. Negi is trapped LBW! Good length delivery on middle, nip sback in a tad, Negi stays in the crease and looks to clip but misses and gets trapped right in front. This is madness!

De Grandhomme into the attack now.

After 7 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 40/6 ( Pawan Negi 0 , Samuel Badree 0)

What a fantastic first over from Woakes! Each of the KKR pacers got a wicket in their first over. Good length deliveries doing the trick for Woakes. He hit the right lengths in that over and got rewarded with the wickets of Gayle and Binny. One run and two wickets in the over. Two new batsmen at the crease.

The strategy of peppering Gayle with short-pitched stuff paid off as the big man holes out to Coulter-Nile at mid off. Is that the match for KKR? Yes, in cricket you can never discount the possibility of a turnaround, but KKR have the match by the scruff of the neck.

OUT! Woakes gets 2nd in the over. Binny edges it to the keeper. KKR pacers are on fire. Just a delivery ago, Woakes had beaten Binny by a beauty, the ball had whizzed inches past the outside edge. But this time the English pacer gets rewarded for his perseverance with the corridor of uncertainty and Binny fiddles with an outswinger and gets an outside edge to Uthappa.

OUT! Woakes too strikes in the first over. Universe Boss walks back to the hut. Coulter-Nile takes the catch, he just can’t stay away from the action! Good length delivery outside off, Gayle stays in his crease and looks to pummell over mid off but ends up mistiming it, Coulter-Nile moves to his left and takes a good catch.

Woakes into the attack now!

After 6 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 39/4 ( Chris Gayle 7 , Stuart Binny 8)

Another very good over from Umesh. Beats Gayle’s outside edge off the the second ball and then draws a false shot, an outside edge which flies to third man for four. He induces another edge again, this time it flies wide of the wide slip for a single to third man. He then comes really close to grabbing the wicket of Binny but his powerful cut flies inches wide of the diving backward point fielder. 11 runs off the over. A brilliant powerplay for KKR – 39/4 in that period.

This is a good strategy KKR have employed against Gayle – bowling short ad back of a length. An absolute snorter by Umesh aimed right at the big Jamaican’s head. Exhilarating stuff. Gayle gets a streaky four and then commits into a shot and the ball takes the outside edge and flies to third man. Gayle all at sea.

And Nathan Coulter-Nile isn't among the top 5 fast bowlers in Australia. This is a seriously good spell of fast bowling

— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) April 23, 2017

Only the ‘universe boss’ can save RCB. The rest of the batsmen have been sent packing. There is juice in the pitch, probably freshened by the light rain earlier. Coulter Nile the tall fast bowler is express quick and devastating today. He has already dismissed Kohli, ABD & Jadhav.

After 5 overs, Royal Challengers Bangalore 28/4 ( Chris Gayle 2 , Stuart Binny 4)

Everyone is pumped up. The bowler, the crowd and the fielders. They are diving all around. Coulter-Nile is ramping up good pace. He is making good use of decent away movement but it is his pace that is doing much of the damage. He gets Jadhav first ball of the over. After five dots, Binny finally releases some pressure as he drives one uppishly over point. Four runs and a wicket off it.

OUT! Coulter-Nile is on fire. Kedar Jadhav too walks back to the dug out. It’s a good length delivery on middle and leg, Jadhav stays in his crease and looks to tuck it away but is early into his shot and gets a leading edge to mid on. Third wicket to the big Aussie.

After 4 overs, Royal Challengers Bangalore 24/3 ( Chris Gayle 2 , Kedar Jadhav (W) 9)

Umesh has found terrific rhythm. He bowls a brilliant yorker to Gayle who digs it to the leg side. Jadhav then fiddles with an outswinger but misses. Umesh responds with a couple of short balls, Jadhav is hurried up on his pull and gets just one and Gayle hits one straight to mid-wicket. Umesh nearly has Gayle off the final ball but it swings back in too much to miss Gayle’s inside edge as well as the stumps.  Brilliant over. Just 2 runs off it.

Another turnaround. But this time RCB gasping for survival. Kohli’s feet not moving as he reached out and edged to slips. Kohli probably distracted by movement behind bowler’s arm. Mandeep’s poor form continues while ABD skied an attempted hook to be caught. Can RCB ride this crisis?

The KKR bowlers have started with a lot of heart. Some out-of-the-box captaincy by Gambhir, starting with forward short leg and three slips. That Kohli was caught at slip vindicates Gambhir’s field placements. The wicket of AB De Villiers was another killer blow to RCB, who are in tatters at the moment. But what would keep KKR worried is that Gayle is still there and if he gets going it will all be over in a hurry. They have also to be wary of the dimunitive dynamite Kedar Jadhav. The Eden crowd would remember him for the blinder he played for India in the 3rd ODI in the series against England earlier this year.

After 3 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 22/3 ( Chris Gayle 1 , Kedar Jadhav (W) 8)

Coulter-Nile has got two big wickets now – Kohli and De Villiers. He started off the over well inducing a leading edge off Gayle. Then drifted down the leg side only for De Villiers to trickle it to fine leg fence. But the Australian had the last laugh bouncing out De Villiers off the next ball. Coulter-Nile then oversteps for the second time in his innings and follows it up with a wide. Jadhav slashes the Free Hit ball over the slip cordon for four. Jadhav then ended the over well with a lofted drive over point. 15 runs and a wicket off the over.

OUT! Coulter-Nile gets another BIG fish! AB De Villiers is back in the hut. Coulter-Nile’s extra pace is doing the trick. He bangs it in short, De Villiers is hurried into the pull, he takes one hand off the bat as he is not in control of the pull and gets a top edge high in the air. Uthappa settles under it and pouches a very good catch. This is brilliant bowling.

After 2 overs, Royal Challengers Bangalore 7/2 ( Chris Gayle 0 , AB de Villiers 4)

Another successful over for KKR. Umesh too got some movement. He managed to remove Mandeep off a ball that didn’t deserve a wicket. De Villiers then started off in style with a lovely flick through mid-wicket for four. The crowd has come to life. 4 runs and a wicket off the over.

This is just the third golden duck for Virat Kohli in T20s. 

1st against Mumbai Indians, Bangalore in 2008
2nd against Kings XI Punjab, Bangalore in 2014

OUT! Umesh strikes in his first over. Mandeep departs. 

The atmosphere is electric now. It’s a touch wide outside off and a tad short too. Mandeep stays in his crease and looks to cut but helps it straight into the hands of the fielder.

AB de Villiers strides out to the middle.

Chris Gayle has scored 339 runs at Eden Gardens, Kolkata from five innings against Kolkata Knight Riders which is the most by any batsman against them at the venue before today.

After 1 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 3/1 ( Chris Gayle 0 , Mandeep Singh 1)

Just the start KKR needed. However, it wasn’t the best of starts from Coulter-Nile as he overstepped the first ball, it was a full delivery which Gayle left alone. Coulter-Nile then made amends as he bowled a sharp short delivery which hit the shoulder and popped up to short leg. Coulter-Nile then got the big fish in Kohli before finishing off an excellent over giving away just three runs.

OUT! Coulter-Nile gets the BIG one! Kohli is out for a golden duck! Brilliant field placement from Gambhir. It’s full outside off, swinging away, Kohli drives away from the body but gets an outside edge, Manish Pandey at 3rd slip juggles but takes it in the end. Kohli was not happy with disturbance in front of the sightscreen. In fact, he was livid.

Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli walk out to the centre. Coulter-Nile starts the bowling for KKR. Bowling to Gayle with a forward short leg and slip.

Right! Kohli and Gayle are the openers. Coulter-Nile will start off!

This score that KKR have got is way below par. Advantage RCB. No doubt about that. But cricket, as they say, is a game of glorious uncertainties and no game is over till it is actually over. The KKR bowlers would have to learn from what their RCB counterparts did. They have two world class spinners in Narine and Kuldeep. The mystique of Chinaman bowling adds an extra edge to Kuldeep’s arsenal. One expects some changes of pace from Woakes and Coulter-Nile. The worry is with Umesh though. He has to get his line and length right and ensure to vary his pace. Narine vs Gyale and Kuldeep vs Kohli is what one can hardly wait to see.

This is the first time KKR have been bowled out at Eden Gardens in IPL while batting first.  

KKR losing all ten wickets batting first in IPL:

67 v Mumbai Indians, Mumbai, 2008
101 v Deccan Chargers, Cape Town, 2009
131 v Royal Challengers Bangalore, Kolkata, 2017

What a brilliant comeback by RCB! At the power play with Narine flogging the bowling, RCB looked in serious trouble. 65 in 6 overs was a terrific start for KKR. Their fans would have had visions of a total in excess of 200, especially as KKR bat deep and have big hitters in the ranks. But Chahal, Badree, Negi and Mills sensationally brought KKR crashing down. Wickets fell like 9 pins. A meltdown literally. KKR’s final total of 131 is below par. RCB should get to the target on this fine batting track. But KKR have questions to answer. 65 for 1 to a mere 131 all out can be pretty demoralising.

After 19.3 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 131/10 ( Umesh Yadav 2 , )

Aravind to bowl the last over. Kuldeep comes down the track and tries to give himself bit of a room. Misses it completely. ‘You miss, I hit,’ says Aravind. KKR all out for 131. A total collapse.

The lowest total defended by Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL in a full 20 overs match is 133. They defended it against Delhi Daredevils at Kolkata in 2008.

OUT! Aravind gets the last wicket as Kuldeep is bowled trying to give himself bit of a room. KKR 131 all out.    

Kuldeep Yadav b Aravind 4(7)

After 19 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 131/9 ( Umesh Yadav 2 , Kuldeep Yadav 4)

Mills bowls the penultimate over. Changes of pace has the KKR batsmen all at sea as they keep playing and missing. The two tailenders have no clue against this crafty bowling from Mills. Five runs from that over.

After 18 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 126/9 ( Umesh Yadav 0 , Kuldeep Yadav 1)

Negi into the attack and Coulter-Nile goes after him, hitting him over mid off, but AB de Villiers times the jump to perfection and takes a fine catch in the deep. Suryakumar falls on the next ball and he swings at it, gets an outside edge and Mills takes the catch at short third man. The England pacer juggles with the ball and holds on in the end. Kuldeep joins Umesh in the middle to face the hat-trick ball. Kuldeep manages to prevent the hat-trick but not very convincingly as he turns the ball around the corner. Four runs from that over.

OUT! Two wickets in two balls for Negi as Suryakumar has a wild swing, gets an outside edge and Mills takes the catch at short third man. Mills almost made a hash of it though, but manages to hold one. KKR 125/9.    

Suryakumar Yadav c Tymal Mills b Negi 15(19)

OUT! Another one goes down as Coulter-Nile in caught very well by De Villiers at long off. KKR 125/8.    

Coulter-Nile c de Villiers b Negi 2(3)

After 17 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 122/7 ( Suryakumar Yadav 14 , Nathan Coulter-Nile 1)

Mills comes back into the attack. Starts with a length delivery outside off and Woakes goes over cover for a boundary. A short delivery and Woakes misses. Comes back to get rid of Woakes with a slower ball as Mandeep takes the catch in the deep. The ball almost popped out though. Nathan Coulter-Nile is the new batsman. Mills continues with changes of pace and beats Suryakumar with a fine back-of-the-hand slower ball.

OUT! Woakes holes out in at wide long on trying to up the ante. A slower delivery doing the trick for RCB. KKR 120/7.    

Woakes c Mandeep b Tymal Mills 18(21)

After 16 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 116/6 ( Suryakumar Yadav 13 , Chris Woakes 14)

Aravind to bowl the 16th over. Suryakumar sweeps and gets a boundary. Much-needed for KKR. They have to get at least 150 to be competitive. Suryakumar plays and misses on the fifth ball and ends the over with a couple to deep square leg. Strategic timeout taken. This will be a busy timeout, one feels.

Both leg spinners Chahal and Badree have completed their quota of overseas. So no worry for RCB about these two gripping a wet ball owing to the light rain. Negi has completed 2. Needs to push through at least one more. Rain will be an issue tonight.

After 15 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 107/6 ( Suryakumar Yadav 6 , Chris Woakes 12)

Negi to bowl the 15th over. Finally a four as Woakes goes inside out. Negi tightens things up after that, conceding three more runs in the remainder of the over.

KKR have been stifled, choked and have self-destructed, and now they are under threat of not even getting to 150, after a start that made one believe 180 was a certainty. But a small score can be defended as Mumbai showed last night. And as we speak, it looks like the rain is coming down again. This is a season when you usually have the Nor’westers in Kolkata, which brings rain and storm in its wake. This now can be another factor in the match.

After 14 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 100/6 ( Suryakumar Yadav 5 , Chris Woakes 6)

Chahal in for his last over. Beats the right-handed Suryakumar all ends up with flight and away-spin. KKR in all sorts of trouble.

After 13 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 98/6 ( Suryakumar Yadav 4 , Chris Woakes 5)

Pawan Negi in for his first over. Chris Woakes has joined Suryakumar at the crease. Woakes gets an edge, but the ball misses Kohli at slip and runs away to the fence. Four runs from that over.

After 12 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 94/6 ( Suryakumar Yadav 4 , Chris Woakes 1)

Chahal to bowl the 12th over and gets two wickets. First Pandey hits a full toss straight to the fielder. What a soft dismissal! Very unlucky for KKR. He could have hit it anywhere. And then, new man Colin de Grandhomme is flummoxed by Chahal. A flighted one outside off takes the outside edge. Easy catch for Kohli at slip.

Suryakumar Yadav scored a fifty in IPL before 12 innings for KKR. He scored 60 runs against Rising Pune Supergiant at Gahunje in 2016. 
Will he lead KKR’s fightback to help them post a fighting total today?

OUT! Colin de Grandhomme walks in and is immediately sent back. A teasingly flighted delivery. The batsman advances down the track and drives, but gets an edge. Kohli takes the catch at slips. KKR 93/6.    

de Grandhomme c Kohli b Chahal 0(2)

OUT! Manish Pandey hits a full toss straight to Badree at short midwicket. As soft a dismissal as one ever was. Second wicket for Chahal. KKR 93/5.    

M Pandey c Badree b Chahal 15(16)

After 11 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 93/4 ( Manish Pandey 15 , Suryakumar Yadav 4)

Badree bowls his last over – the 11th of the innings. Manish Pandey gets a boundary through backward point on the fifth ball. Two more runs from that over. A good one overall for RCB.

RCB have pulled back brilliantly. Once again the spinners Chahal and Badree have clicked at a crucial time. That dummy sold to Pathan by Chahal was classic.

After 10 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 87/4 ( Manish Pandey 10 , Suryakumar Yadav 3)

Well-thought-out wicket that for RCB. Chahal fires one down the leg side as Pathan came down the track. The batsman misses and the keeeper does the rest behind the stumps. KKR are losing their way a bit after a strong start, much like the previous match against GL. Suryakumar Yadav the new man in. At the halfway stage, KKR have got some good runs on the board, but lost too many wickets.

OUT! Yusuf Pathan is foxed with a ball down the leg side. Pathan misses and is stumped. KKR 82/4

Y Pathan st Kedar Jadhav b Chahal 8(8)

After 9 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 79/3 ( Manish Pandey 8 , Yusuf Pathan 6)

Badree bowls the ninth over and gives away only six runs. This is very tight bowling from the RCB.

After 8 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 73/3 ( Manish Pandey 5 , Yusuf Pathan 3)

Chahal into the attack and beats Pathan with an absolute beauty. Draws the batsman forward and beats him all ends up. The ball was not far away from the outside edge. The batsman could also have fallen over as well as he bcame forward, giving a stumping chance. Five runs from that over…

After 7 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 68/3 ( Manish Pandey 2 , Yusuf Pathan 1)

Badree comes back into the attack and immediately gives RCB a breakthrough. Uthappa plays all around a straight ball from Badree and is adjudged LBW. Big wicket that. The third delivery of thge over produces the wicket. A fine over. A wicket taken and only three runs conceded.

Narine played a typically brisk innings, but RCB got bhis wicket at precisely the right moment. The wicket of Uthappa has pushed KKR a bit into the corner. Yusuf Pathan and Manish Pandey stiched together a fine partnership to take KKR over the line against Delhi. If there was a time they need to fire, it is now. But their task would be cut out with two very crafty bowlers in Badree and Chahal operating.

OUT! Uthappa caught in front of the stumps off a straightish delivery, playing all around it. Looked plumb. Badree returns to dent KKR. That is a big breakthrough. Yusuf Pathan is the new man in. KKR 66/3

Uthappa lbw b Badree 11(9)

After 6 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 65/2 ( Robin Uthappa (W) 11 , Manish Pandey 0)

Binny into the attack and plays the first ball through midwicket. Bit uppish but in the gap. Four! Narine slashes at a wide delivery from Binny and goes over backward point as the ball races away to the fence. The next ball looked to be headed into the stands, but Chahal is at the right place at the right moment, as he pouches the catch right at the boundary. A fine shot by Narine – a wristy flick, Caribbean touch all over it, but fails to get the elevation. Narine  falls after a pacey innings. After the first six overs, KKR going well, but pegged back a bit by two wickets. Manish Pandey is the new man in. Strategic timeout taken.

RCB struggling with one front line paceman strategy. Poor fielding triggered by Sunil Nadine’s disruptive pinch hitting has not helped. Narine’s 34 from 17 balls completely threw RCB into disarray.

OUT! Narine falls after a typically aggressive 34 off 17 balls. Lofts Binny towards deep square leg with a flick of the wrists, but Chahal is well positioned to take the catch right at the boundary. KKR 65/2

Narine c Chahal b Binny 34(17)

After 5 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 56/1 ( Sunil Narine 30 , Robin Uthappa (W) 6)

Aravind bowls the fifth over. Narine has a wild swing at the first ball and misses it completely. Mixup between Narine and Uthappa on the third ball. A chance to get Uthappa run out. Again a direct hit was needed. Not great running between the wickets from the KKR batsmen. RCB captain then misfields and concedes a single. Not something you associate with Kohli.

After 4 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 52/1 ( Sunil Narine 28 , Robin Uthappa (W) 4)

Mills continues. The batsmen scamper through for a couple. A great chance to get Narine run out, but RCB needed a direct hit. But poor cricket from the bowler too. Mills should have been behind the stumps to gather that ball and whip the bails off. Narine is not a great runner between the wickets and that should have been the first wicket for RCB. You don’t give Narine a ’life’ when he is in this kind of form. Mills then bowls one down the leg side and it runs away to the fence. Five wides. Gambhir seems to have nicked the fourth delivery from Mills to the keeper. RCB are claiming the catch, but the umpires are not sure. The soft signal is not out. Kohli looks incredulous. The umpires finally go upstairs and thankfully so for RCB. Gambhir adjudged out. The catch was also cleanly taken. No problems there. Robin Uthappa is the new man in and he plays a delightful straight drive, with impeccable timing. The ball beats both the diving mid off and mid on and runs away to the fence.

OUT! Gambhir edges one from Mills to wicketkeeper Kedar Jadhav. The umpires were not very sure and the soft signal was not out. But they went upstairs and thankfuully so for RCB. KKR one down for 48. 

Gambhir c Kedar Jadhav b Tymal Mills 14(11)

After 3 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 39/0 ( Sunil Narine 27 , Gautam Gambhir (C) 11)

Aravind replaces Badree. Narine plays and misses. Wait for a big shot now. And right on cue, Narine tries to make room and get one away on the leg side. The ball travels to long on. Finally a single taken by Narine. Gambhir gets a boundary at third man off the next ball, as he guides one past Chris Gayle at slips. Deliberately played in that region and played with soft hands. Narine goes after Aravind. On the back foot and straight over the bowler’s head. Makes bit of a room then and cracks the last ball of the over through cover-point to the fence. That’s the third boundary of the over.

After 2 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 25/0 ( Sunil Narine 18 , Gautam Gambhir (C) 6)

Mills bowls the second over and has Gambhir hopping around. The KKR captain is visibly uncomfortable, looks a bit edgy and keen to get to the other end. The fifth ball is banged in short and climbs above Gambhir’s head, which he guidesd over the third man fence for six. Mills comes back with a good change of pace off the last ball. Seven runs from that over.

Another whirlwind start by Narine. RCB have had Gayle give them this kind of a start on numerous occasions, but they are getting some of their own medicine back. The Narine experiment by KKR would be remembered long before the tournament is over.

After 1 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 18/0 ( Sunil Narine 18 , Gautam Gambhir (C) 0)

Narine plays and misses the first ball, but then dances down the track and plays a cover drive for four that would have made an established top order batsman proud. The next two balls also go the journey, first over the bowler’s  head and then through extra cover. The fifth ball is hammered down the ground for six. Narine now has 60 runs, all in boundaries, this and the previous match included. RCB captain Kohli looks downcast.

Gautam Gambhir and Sunil Narine walk out to open the KKR innings. The crafty Samuel Badree to start the bowling for RCB. This is going to be interesting. This is going to be Trinidad vs Trinidad as Badree bowls to Narine.

Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore have a 9-9 record against each other in IPL. However, at Eden Gardens, Royal Challengers Bangalore have lost four out of seven matches in IPL.

Virat Kohli rings the bell at the iconic Eden Gardens to signal the start of the match.

Kohli v Gambir personality clash highly exaggerated IMO but seeing these intense players as rivals (& captains) on the field always engaging

— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) April 23, 2017

KKR XI: Gautam Gambhir, Robin Uthappa, Manish Pandey, Yusuf Pathan, Suryakumar Yadav, Colin de Grandhomme, Chris Woakes, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Sunil Narine, Umesh Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav. 

RCB XI: Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Kedar Jadhav, M Singh, Stuart Binny, Pawan Negi, Tymal Mills, S Aravind, Samuel Badree, Yuzvendra Chahal.

Changes for RCB: AB De Villiers and Samuel Badree into the side for Shane Watson and Travis Head.  

Changes for KKR: Colin de Grandhomme comes in place of Shakib Al Hasan.

RCB captain Virat Kohli wins the toss and elects to bowl.

Toss in 5 minutes, start in 20 mins... #ipl

— Innocent Bystander (@InnoBystander) April 23, 2017

Covers are coming off. I'm reasonably excited too... #IPL #KKRvRCB pic.twitter.com/Vy5FeafKDU

— mark butcher (@markbutcher72) April 23, 2017

Half the covers are off now... #ipl

— Innocent Bystander (@InnoBystander) April 23, 2017

Good News! Covers are coming off. The stands are totally packed.#KKRvRCB #IPL

— Rajneesh Gupta (@rgcricket) April 23, 2017

UPDATE: The rain has subsided and the crowd is back to their seats. The ground is still under the wraps though.#KKRvRCB #IPL

— Rajneesh Gupta (@rgcricket) April 23, 2017

Rain and a wet outfield may not exactly be to RCB’ spinners’ liking. The spinners, the strong point of the bowling, would be hampered by the poor grip of the wet ball. This might see their ‘best new bowler’ Badree the leg spinner being dropped and all rounder Shane Watson getting a look in. If the overs are reduced there could be fresh factors to be considered 

It's raining quite heavily now at the Eden Gardens. They have covered the whole ground.#KKRvRCB #IPL pic.twitter.com/3sOl72zoAU

— Rajneesh Gupta (@rgcricket) April 23, 2017

Bad news to start off – It’s raining at the Eden Gardens, the covers are on!

Badree, Chahal, Negi are the RCB spinners in good nick. If Watson is dropped, Mills has to step up and deliver. So too Arvind and possibly Binny. But would the team go into a T20 match on a good Eden Gardens track with just one frontline fast bowler? That question would dog RCB if they opt to field their eleven thus: Gayle, Kohli, ABD, Jadav (wk), Harpreet, Binny, Negi, Arvind, Mills, Badree, Chahal. The batting would depend heavily on the top four chipping in substantially while the bowling would hope that the last four fire! RCB’s lack of all rounders is an issue for sure.

RCB’s big worry is the form of their Indian contingent in the squad. Skipper Kohli is back and in form. Jadhav too has come good at times. But Mandeep is struggling. Would RCB bring in new comer Harpreet? He was drafted four days ago for the injured Sarfaraz Khan.  The left-hand batsman was in good nick in domestic cricket and could be included.  Sreenath Arvind has bowled well in patches. He is a smart bowler and could still serve RCB well. Chahal and  Negi have tasted success. Binny too needs to fire. He is capable of coming up with a cameo.

Nothing succeeds like Gayle! His scintillating 38-ball knock of 77 against Gujarat Lions in the previous match signaled the return to form of the Universe Boss. The master blaster loves the big stage, especially one as big as Eden Gardens.  He averages 84.7 in his five IPL matches at the venue, with one hundred and two 50s highlighting his 339 runs. Additionally, the four-day gap between matches has ensured that all the injured RCB players, ABD, Tymal Mills and Sam Badree are fit and raring to go. It would be tough to drop Head and Milne. The temptation to include left hander Head to hit with the spin against Shakib would be strong. RCB also need Watson to get back to form quickly as he is their ideal all rounder. Thus tough selection calls for skipper Virat Kohli and coach Dan Vettori.

Hello and welcome to the coverage of KKR vs RCB at the Eden Gardens. Match starts at 8 PM IST. Follow this space for live blogs and updates.