RCB's lack of left-handed batters hands KKR major edge in must-win clash

Time of India

16-05-2025

KKR team with Virat Kohli and Liam Livingstone
New Delhi:
IPL 2025
is all set to resume with
Kolkata Knight Riders
(KKR) facing
Royal Challengers Bangalore
(RCB) in a must-win match. While
KKR
are in a tougher situation than
RCB
in the playoffs race, they have a significant ace up their sleeve in the form of spinner
Varun Chakaravarthy
who's wreaked havoc this season.
Chakaravarthy has picked 17 wickets in 12 matches this season, maintaining an economy rate of just seven. While the 33-year-old spinner has made his presence felt across different situations, his dominance against right-hand batters especially stands out.
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Chakaravarthy has dismissed the most number of right-hand batters in IPL 2025, accounting for 15 such dismissals at a strike rate of 13.27. The spinner's dominance especially stood out in KKR's recent match against RR where he dismissed Dhruv Jurel and Wanindu Hasaranga during the same over, outwitting them with a googly which zipped off the pitch and hit the stumps.
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Interestingly, RCB are majorly a team comprising right-handed batters with Krunal Pandya, Jacob Bethell and Manoj Bhandage the only lefties. The Rajat Patidar-led side chose to pick Mayank Agarwal as a replacement for left-handed batter Devdutt Padikkal, further deepening the crisis. Even KKR pacer
Harshit Rana
enjoys a decent record against right-handed batters in the ongoing edition, having accounted for nine such dismissals in 12 matches.
Quiz:
Who's that IPL player?
Player
Innings
Dismissals (RHB in IPL 2025)
Strike Rate (vs RHB)
Economy Rate (vs RHB)
Varun Chakaravarthy
12
15
13.27
7.42
Noor Ahmad
12
12
14.25
8.56
Prasidh Krishna
11
11
15.45
8.36
Arshdeep Singh
10
10
12.20
8.31
Chakaravarthy will be smacking his lips in anticipation at the prospect of adding to his list of scalps against a favourable buildup of batters. The KKR spinner enjoys a decent record against RCB, having accounted for 13 dismissals in eight matches at an economy rate of 6.32.
IPL 2025: The unsung heroes of India's T20 league
"Varun's variations and ability to strike with a unique action are his main strengths. He is gaining more and more control as well as growing in confidence. Varun is focusing on striking with as many dismissals as possible rather than simply looking to bowl dot balls," said former Indian spinner Venkatapathy Raju during an exclusive interaction with TimesofIndia.com.
"RCB have enough experience to decide with their team buildup should be. They came with their own ideas about the squad balance with regard to the batting department. Facing KKR will test RCB, especially considering this break in the IPL, which can sometimes break the rhythm. It's going to be a nice face-off between Varun and RCB," he added.
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