Royal Challengers Bengaluru's veteran Virat Kohli, who has faced two back-to-back ducks this season, will be raring to get back to form against Kolkata Knight Riders but will face a serious challenge against star spinner Sunil Narine.
Kohli has faced a couple of bumps in IPL 2026 with two back-to-back golden ducks. While the ever-improving strike rate numbers are proof of his evolution in T20 cricket, even after retiring from the format internationally, fans would undoubtedly want the IPL's leading run-getter to go back to scoring big and carefully.
The 37-year-old holds a fine record against three-time champions, having made 1,021 runs in 36 matches and 33 innings at an average of 39.26 and a strike rate of 132.94, with a century and seven fifties to his name.
His past five innings against the Knights have seen him score three fifties, with scores of 21, 54, 83 not out, 18, and 59 not out.
Narine, the third IPL bowler to reach the 200-wicket mark, will be an exciting match-up against Virat. Narine has got the better of Virat four times out of 21 innings. He has also managed to contain Virat's run flow, with the batter having scored 171 in 168 balls at a strike rate of just above 101, including 12 fours and two sixes and 57 dot balls.
So far, Virat has scored 379 runs in 11 matches at an average of 42.11 and a strike rate of 163.36, including three fifties. Narine has got 10 wickets in nine matches at an average of 22.80, but it is his economy rate of 6.51, which creates pressure on batters.