Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Kolkata Knight Riders Predictions - Kohli to keep runs flowing against KKR

Simon Lewis

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Last updated: 16 May 2025

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Simon Lewis 16 May 2025

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Virat Kohli hit five sixes in his 33-ball innings of 62 against Chennai Super Kings.
Ajinkya Rahane has scored 50, 26, 30 & 48 runs in his last four innings.
Can Royal Challengers Bengaluru beat Kolkta Knight Riders to go top of the IPL table?

Virat Kohli glides a ball to third man against CSK. (credit: Pankaj Nangia/Getty Images)

Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Kolkata Knight Riders Predictions

Royal Challengers can almost seal their place in the playoffs with a win as well as going top of the IPL table. Their team is firing and Kohli is in fierce form, so I’m backing them to beat the Knight Riders.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s Virat Kohli has scored seven 50s in his 11 innings in the 2025 IPL.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s Jacob Bethell scored 55 off 33 balls against Chennai Super Kings.
Kolkata Knight Riders’ Ajinkya Rahane scored 48 off 33 balls against Chennai Super Kings.
Kolkata Knight Riders’ Angkrish Raghuvanshi has scored 27*, 44 & 44 in his last 4 innings.

Head-to-Head

Kolkata Knight Riders have won four and lost one of their last five matches against Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Their last meeting was in March in the opening match of IPL 2025, which saw RCB run out victors by seven wickets with 22 balls to spare.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru Form

Royal Challengers Bengaluru made it four wins from their last four matches when they beat Chennai Super Kings by two runs.

Royal Challengers openers Jacob Bethell (55 off 33 balls) and Virat Kohli (62 off 33) added 97 for the first wicket in 10 overs, but it was Romario Shepherd’s 53* off 14 balls that rocketed RCB to 213/5 off their 20 overs.

The Super Kings batters were up to the challenge, only to fall two runs short with five wickets in hand. Lungi Ngidi (3/30, econ 7.50) returned from injury to knock over three of the top five CSK batters and was the most economical of the RCB bowlers.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru Team News

Lungi Ngidi returned to competitive action by taking 3/30 against his former side, Chennai Super Kings. His return is perfectly timed to help RCB take a crack at winning their first IPL title.

Kolkata Knight Riders Form

The Knight Riders ended their two-match winning streak by losing to bottom-of-the-table Chennai Super Kings by two wickets.

Ajinkya Rahane (48 off 33 balls) top-scored for the Knight Riders as they posted just 179/6 off their 20 overs.

The Super Kings were struggling at 60/5 in the sixth over before recovering to hit their target with two balls to spare and two wickets in hand. Vaibhav Arora (3/48), Harshit Rana (2/43) and Varun Chakravarthy (2/18) did their best to restrict the CSK batters.

Kolkata Knight Riders Team News

The Knight Riders need to win both of their remaining matches to have an outside chance of sneaking into the playoffs.

Verdict

Royal Challengers Bengaluru v Kolkata Knight Riders - T20

I am backing Royal Challengers Bengaluru to win. I am also backing Virat Kohli to top score for Royal Challengers Bengaluru.

Ajinkya Rahane is a good bet to top score for the Kolkata Knight Riders.

RCB To Win

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