Maybe not a clash of the titans, but there is going to be an interesting encounter between Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Gujarat Titans (GT) at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium tonight. Former Team India all-rounder Irfan Pathan is eager to see Virat Kohli face-to-face against veteran spinner Rashid Khan.
Gujarat Titans look to be one of the most lethal bowling teams in the ongoing Indian Premier League season. Prasidh Krishna, Kagiso Rabada and Mohammed Siraj have formed a strong pace attack for the Shubman Gill-led team. The fast bowling unit is supported by the experience of Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan.
Virat Kohli vs Rashid Khan: Rivalry within a match
Through YouTube video, Irfan Pathan said that Virat Kohli vs Rashid Khan match could be an important moment. Both these players are key players of their respective teams. Tonight, one of Virat and Rashid will stand on the big occasion of the match.
Irfan Pathan said in his YouTube video, “I can’t wait to watch this match. Rashid Khan is looking in good form. Virat Kohli’s strike rate against Rashid Khan is 125. When Virat Kohli comes to bowl, he will be set. I want to see if Virat Kohli plays aggressively against him. I also want to see if Gujarat will use one of Rashid Khan’s overs in the powerplay.”
Rashid Khan dismissed Kohli twice in T20
According to the statistics, in the T20 match, the RCB veteran played 69 balls off Rashid Khan and scored 86 runs at a strike rate of 124.6 and an average of 43.00. The top order batsmen have hit six fours and two sixes on the bowler. In those 69 balls, Afghanistan’s spinner dismissed the batsman twice.
As well as putting pressure on Virat Kohli by using the spin wizard, Irfan Pathan suggested Shubman Gill to save at least one of Khan or Tim David.
It is noteworthy that Rashid has taken 6 wickets at an economy rate of 7.70 in several matches in IPL 2026.
“I would like Gujarat to keep at least one over of Rashid Khan for Tim David. Keeping one or two overs against Tim David can be a good matchup for Gujarat. Tim David is in very good form and can finish the game. It does not matter what the pitch is; keeping one over of Rashid will be very important for Gujarat”, said the former cricketer.
Pathan urges Gujarat Titans to support Kumar Kushagra
Pathan also mentioned 21-year-old Gujarat Titans batsman Kumar Kushagra in his video. The former cricketer, who is now a cricket expert, observed that the young batsman was in good form in the last match. Kushagra has played one match for GT in IPL 2026, where he scored only 18 runs.
“It will be very important to utilize Kumar Kushagra’s batting. He looked in very good form in the matches he played. He also batted at No. 3 for Jharkhand and scored runs. His batting looks very compact. Please play Kumar Kushagra,” Pathan said.
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