The 31st match of IPL 2021 will be played between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kolkata Knight Riders in the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium of Dubai on Monday. Both the teams would be looking to have a good start to the Phase-2 of IPL 2021. RCB would like to carry forward from where they left in the first leg whereas KKR would like to forget the entire Phase-1 experience. Ahead in this article, you’ll get to know how did the first leg of IPL 2021 escalate for both the teams including the KKR vs RCB Head-to-Head record.
RCB is currently in a comfortable position as far as the points table is concerned. With 5 wins in 7 matches, the Kohli-led RCB is placed 3rd in the table. The players in the Bangalore side were in good form during the India-leg and the management would be hoping the same from the players in the UAE leg as well. Harshal Patel of RCB is currently the Purple Cap holder with 17 wickets in 7 matches. AB de Villiers and Maxwell both have fired with the bat in the first 7 matches
The Kolkata Knight Riders didn’t have a good first leg and currently stand at 7th position in the points table. After winning their first game against Sunrisers Hyderabad, KKR suffered four straight losses. The Morgan-led team did bounce back in their 6th match against Punjab Kings but were handed a defeat by the Delhi Capitals in the very next match. All in all, the KKR side has to play at their very best to make to the top four.
KKR vs RCB Head to Head 2021
KKR and RCB came face-to-face in the first leg of IPL 2021 as well where the latter had an upper hand. RCB won the match convincingly by a margin of 38 runs.
| Stats | Matches | KKR Won | RCB Won | Tied |
| Overall | 28 | 15 | 13 | – |
| At Sheikh Zayed Stadium | 1 | 0 | 1 | – |
| In the last 5 matches | 5 | 1 | 4 | – |
| IPL 2021 | 1 | 0 | 1 | – |
Pitch Report for KKR vs RCB match
The pitch at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium assists the fast bowlers due to its double-paced nature. The batsmen find it difficult to judge the pace and often end up lobbing the ball up for an easy catch. Big totals are hardly seen here owing to the kind of assistance to the bowlers and the big boundaries in addition.
ALSO READ: Dubai International Cricket Stadium Pitch Report for IPL 2021 and T20 Records
The Dew is a big factor in Dubai and affects the game largely. Spinners find it difficult to bowl in the second half of the match. Hence, batting first should be the way to go here.