IPL 2021, Eliminator, RCB vs KKR Stats and Records preview: Narine, Harshal close in on milestones

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Bengaluru, October 10: Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) lock horns with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 Eliminator at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium in Sharjah on Monday (October 11).

Virat Kolhi-led RCB, who finished third with 9 wins from 14 matches to book a play-off spot, are heading into the Eliminator on that back of a thrilling win over table-toppers Delhi Capitals.

Eoin Morgan's KKR, on the other hand, sealed their play-off spot in fourth position thanks to a better net run rate and back-to-back victories over Sunrisers Hyderabad followed by Rajasthan Royals.

While RCB search for their first-ever IPL title having come close twice as runners-up in 2009 and 2016 seasons, KKR aim for their title having won the IPL in 2014 and 2012.

Both teams will aim for a win to get one step closer to the final as a victory will take them to Qualifier 2, where they will face losers of Qualifier 1, the Delhi Capitals on Wednesday (October 13).

In the second phase of IPL 2021, RCB have 3 defeats and 4 wins, while KKR have lost twice and won 5 matches including the fixture against Kohli's side in UAE. In the first phase, KKR had won just 2 of their 7 matches. RCB had 5 wins during the same time.

The two teams shared the spoils this season in the league phase after KKR avenged the 38 run loss earlier in the season with a comprehensive 9-wicket win in the reverse fixture.

In the head-to-head battle, KKR have a narrow lead over RCB winning 15 of the 28 meetings. In the last six matches, however, Kohli and Co have a better record winning 4 matches.

In their 4 meetings in UAE, it's level at 2-2 with RCB doing the double over KKR in the 2020 season, while the Kolkata franchise won in the solitary contests during the 2014 and 2021 seasons.

The two teams also share the spoils for wins at venues with a win each at Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi, and also a win each at Sharjah Cricket Stadium in Sharjah, where they will clash once again on Monday (October 11).

In their 28 clashes, 18 matches have been won by the team chasing with RCB winning 11 and KKR winning 8 times. The team batting first has won 10 times when these two sides have met with KKR winning 7 times and RCB 3 times.

At the Sharjah Cricket Stadium in IPL 2021 season, KKR have won two in two, once when batting first and once when chasing, while RCB have won one and lost one - both times batting first. Speaking of the record at the venue this season, 5 matches have been won by the team chasing in the 8 matches.

Now, we take a look at some interesting stats and the players approaching milestones heading into IPL 2021, Eliminator, RCB vs KKR:

▶ Royal Challengers Bangalore's Harshal Patel, who currently wears the purple cap with 30 wickets from 14 matches this season, is 3 wickets away from overtaking Dwayne Bravo (32) for most wickets taken in a single IPL season.

▶ Royal Challengers Bangalore pacer Mohammed Siraj is 2 scalps away from 50 wickets in IPL. The pacer is also in-line to make his 50th appearance in IPL.

▶ Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Virat Kohli is 4 fours away from 900 fours in T20 cricket (overall).

▶ Kolkata Knight Riders' Dinesh Karthik is two boundaries away from 400 fours in IPL. The wicketkeeper-batsman is also 8 maximums away from 200 sixes in T20 cricket (overall).

▶ Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Eoin Morgan is 14 runs away from becoming the 13th player to score 1000 runs for the Kolkata-based franchise.

▶ Kolkata Knight Riders spinner Sunil Narine is 74 runs away from completing 1000 runs in IPL. Narine (419) is also two scalps away from overtaking Imran Tahir (420) to the second position in the leading wicket-takers list in T20 cricket (overall).

▶ Kolkata Knight Riders all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan (47) is three away from becoming the fourth player to take 50 wickets for Kolkata-based franchise in the IPL after Sunil Narine, Andre Russell and Piyush Chawla. However, his IPL economy rate against RCB (9.1) is his second highest against any team (11.5 v Gujarat Lions).

▶ RCB opener Devdutt Padikkal (863) is 36 away from overtaking Rahul Dravid (898) to becoming the fifth highest run scorer for the Bangalore-based franchise in IPL. The Karnataka player has also scored 104 runs against KKR in his IPL career, his most against any team without having recorded a half-century.

▶ Royal Challengers Bangalore have the joint-best bowling strike rate in this edition of the IPL alongside Kolkata Knight Riders (18.6); however, their bowling strike rate during the powerplay is the highest of any team (50.4).

▶ Kolkata Knight Riders have won their last two matches in the Indian Premier League, the last time they won more consecutive games was a four-match span in May 2018.

▶ Royal Challengers Bangalore lost their most recent Indian Premier League meeting against Kolkata Knight Riders by nine wickets (20 September 2021), snapping a four-match winning run against KKR in the IPL.