The two heavyweights were facing each other for the second time this IPL. Hosts, KKR were looking for another win to be in on par with the leaders SRH, while it was another do or die for RCB. Virat Kohli won the toss and chose to bowl first.

KKR got off to a good start even after the loss of a wicket in the second over. They did well to reach 51 in power play on a sticky wicket. It was good work from Gautam Gambhir and Manish Pandey which took the KKR innings in the right direction even after the power play. Gambhir got to his 5th fifty this season and looked solid for a big score. Unfortunately, there was some misunderstanding between the two batsmen and the skipper was run out. Pandey too reached the 50 mark but got out trying to accelerate. KKR lost a string of wickets after that and it felt like RCB had made a big comeback to the game. It was Andre Russell and Shakib Al Hasan, who rescued KKR and pushed their scoring rate. They scored 59 runs in the last 5 overs to put 183/5 on board.

RCB opening pair finally clicked when Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli started explosively. It was Gayle who started first, with repeated hits to the boundary line off Morne Morkel and Andre Russell. Kohli too joined the party as RCB raced to fifty in just 5 overs. It seemed that KKR had no answer for RCB until Sunil Narine struck with a wrong one to surprise Gayle and get him LBW. There was no reprieve for KKR as Kohli and AB de Villiers continued from where they left against Gujarat Lions. KKR had one chance to pull the game back when Kohli was in his 30’s when Gambhir dropped him at backward point. The wicket could have been the turning point of the match as KKR did not get any further chances. They were on the receiving end of a whirlwind knock by De Villiers 59(31). Kohli on the other end anchored the innings with a masterful 75 even after suffering an injury while fielding. The two put another century stand to take RCB home and beat KKR by 9 wickets.