New Delhi, Apr 26 (IANS): The first half of IPL 2023 has witnessed some high-adrenaline contests between all ten teams. The contest between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kolkata Knight Riders kicks off the reverse fixtures on Wednesday.

RCB lost the first game between the two teams in the TATA IPL 2023 by a big margin of 81 runs when they played at Eden Gardens. The hosts will be aiming to settle the scores at their home ground and pick two crucial points as well.

Former India cricketer Harbhajan Singh reckons the biggest strength of RCB has been the good form of their regular and acting skipper i.e. Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli, and runs coming out of their bats will keep the dressing room relaxed.

Speaking on Star Sports' Cricket Live, Harbhajan Singh said, "Virat Kohli will have to take the responsibility to keep RCB up. His partnership with Faf will be crucial. Virat and Faf are in good form and this will always give relief to RCB."

Former South Africa cricketer Imran Tahir believes Virat Kohli will have to continue to be the backbone of RCB and he needs to bat long in the upcoming games.

"Virat Kohli is a class batsman. It has always been difficult for me to get him out. I want him to score a lot of runs in IPL. His team has high hopes for him and for this reason, Virat should think about staying on the wicket for a little longer."