It may not be a clash of titans, but it will be an interesting contest between Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Gujarat Titans (GT) tonight at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. Former Team India all-rounder Irfan Pathan hopes to see Virat Kohli one on one against ace spinner Rashid Khan.
Gujarat Titans appear as one of the most lethal bowling teams in the current season of the Indian Premier League. Prasidh Krishna, Kagiso Rabada and Mohammed Siraj have created a formidable pace attack for the Shubman Gill-led team. The pace bowling unit is supported by the experience of Afghan spinner Rashid Khan.
Virat Kohli vs Rashid Khan: A rivalry within a match
Through a YouTube video, Irfan Pathan said that the Virat Kohli vs Rashid Khan moment could be a vital moment of the match. Both players are key figures for their respective teams. Between Virat and Rashid, one will face each other on the big occasion of tonight’s match.
“I can’t wait to see this matchup. Rashid Khan looks in good form. Virat Kohli’s strike rate is 125 against Rashid Khan. Virat Kohli will be ready when he comes to bowl. I want to see if Virat Kohli plays aggressively against him. I also want to see if Gujarat will use Rashid Khan’s over in the powerplay,” Irfan Pathan said in his YouTube video.
Rashid Khan dismissed Kohli twice in T20
According to statistics, in the T20 contest, the RCB stalwart played 69 deliveries off Rashid Khan to score 86 runs at a strike rate of 124.6 for an average of 43.00. The top-order batsmen have smashed the bowler with six 4s and two 6s. In those 69 balls, the Afghanistan spinner dismissed the batsman twice.
Apart from putting pressure on Virat Kohli using the spinner, Irfan Pathan suggests Shubman Gill to preserve at least one of Khan or Tim David.
It is worth mentioning that Rashid has 6 wickets in as many matches in IPL 2026 for an economy rate of 7.70.
“I would like Gujarat to keep at least one over from Rashid Khan for Tim David. Having one or two overs against Tim David can be a good matchup for Gujarat. Tim David has been in very good form and can finish the game. No matter how the pitch is, keeping Rashid’s over will be very important for Gujarat,” opined the former cricketer.
Pathan urges Gujarat Titans to support Kumar Kushagra
Pathan also mentioned Gujarat Titans’ 21-year-old batting prodigy Kumar Kushagra in his video. The former cricketer, now a cricket expert, observed that the young batsman was in good touch in the previous match. Kushagra played one match for GT in IPL 2026, where he scored just 18.
“It will be very important to use Kumar Kushagra’s batting. He looked in very good form in the match he played. He also batted at number 3 for Jharkhand and scored runs. His batting seems very compact. Please play with Kumar Kushagra,” Pathan opined.
Read More: Rajat Patidar is an all-format player with leadership skills: KKR IPL-winning coach in awe of RCB captain