5 best bowling performances by an RCB player vs KKR ahead of IPL 2025 opener ft. Mohammed Siraj

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will host Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the inaugural game of the 2025 edition of the Indian Premier League at the Eden Gardens on Saturday, March 22. While KKR are the defending champions of the tournament, RCB finished fourth last season.

RCB have never won the tournament, while KKR are among the top three most successful teams in IPL history. But even then, the contests between these two teams have often produced top performances with both the bat and the ball.

In this listicle, we take a look at the five best bowling performances by an RCB player against KKR:

#5 Vinay Kumar, 3-23 (2010)

Royal Challengers Bangalore bowler Vinay Kumar (right).

Former India pacer Vinay Kumar is fifth on this list with his figures of 3-23 against KKR in the 2010 edition. KKR batted first at the Chinnaswamy in this game and put up a decent 160-9 on the board, with Brendon McCullum top-scoring with 45.

Vinay Kumar was the wrecker-in-chief for RCB, sending Sourav Ganguly, Angelo Mathews and Ishant Sharma back to the hut. In reply, half-centuries from Rahul Dravid (52) and Robin Uthappa (50*) helped RCB chase the target down.

#4 Yuzvendra Chahal, 3-16 (2017)

Yuzvendra Chahal comes fourth on our list for the 3-16 he picked up against KKR in the 2017 edition of the tournament. In the game played at the Eden Gardens, KKR batted first and were bowled out for a paltry 131, thanks largely to the leggie running through their innings and dismissing Manish Pandey, Yusuf Pathan and Colin de Grandhomme.

In response, however, RCB failed big-time and lost their skipper Virat Kohli in the first over itself. They kept losing wickets at regular intervals and could not quite contain De Grandhomme, Chris Woakes and Nathan Coulter-Nile, who picked up three wickets apiece. RCB were eventually bowled out for just 49, losing the game by 82 runs.

#3 Varun Aaron, 3-16 (2014)

Fast bowler Varun Aaron, known to be among the quickest in the country during his prime, comes third on this list. He returned with figures of 3-16 against KKR in IPL 2014. The Kolkata-based side batted first in Sharjah and scored 150-7 in their quota of 20 overs, with Chris Lynn top-scoring with 45.

Aaron was the most successful bowler for RCB in this innings, picking up the wickets of Lynn, Yusuf Pathan and Robin Uthappa to give his team some hope towards the end. In reply, however, RCB came extremely close before missing out on the target by three runs. Yogesh Takawale's 40 could only take them to 148-5.

#2 Mohammed Siraj, 3-8 (2020)

India seamer Mohammed Siraj, who was a valuable part of RCB till 2024, has now been snapped up by Gujarat Titans. He comes second on our list thanks to the 3-8 he picked up against KKR in Abu Dhabi, in the 2020 edition of the tournament. RCB beat KKR by eight wickets in this match.

Batting first, KKR were restricted to 84-8 in 20 overs, with Siraj running amok. His victims included Rahul Tripathi, Nitish Rana and Tom Banton. He gave away just eight runs while bowling two maidens in his quota of four. RCB later chased the target down with ease, losing just two wickets.

#1 Wanindu Hasaranga 4-20 (2022)

Sri Lanka leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga comes first on our list due to the 4-20 he took against KKR at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai in IPL 2022. KKR batted first in this game, and could not quite pick up Hasaranga's variations, who played a vital role in them getting bowled out for just 128.

After picking up the top-order wickets of Shreyas Iyer, Sunil Narine and Sheldon Jackson, Hasaranga returned to send Tim Southee home. RCB did not find the chase too easy while batting second but Sherfane Rutherford's timely 28 and Shahbaz Ahmed's 27 helped them get over the line with just two wickets in hand.