The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have played only one match at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium, Raipur

In a do-or-die situation, KKR has reached Raipur, Chhattisgarh, to take on Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). Sitting in the eighth position with nine points, KKR must win all four of their remaining matches in the table stage to reach the play-offs. On the other hand, RCB is in a secure position, sitting at the top of the table, but with competition heating up in the middle, losing is not an option for them.

On the evening of May 13, the two sides will meet in Raipur because RCB’s home stadium is currently undergoing safety checks, and therefore, the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium is being used as their second home away from home.

Roof lighting and digital led display/hoarding work going on at

Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium, Chhattisgarh 📍

📌 RCB vs Mi on 10th May.

📌 RCB vs KKR on 13th May. pic.twitter.com/wtmr31FvDR

— Baljeet Singh (@ImTheBaljeet) May 3, 2026

For the record, while RCB has played two matches at the venue and won both, KKR’s record is poor. Let's review KKR's lone game at this location, which they lost to the Delhi Daredevils, in the paragraphs that follow.

KKR’s early fall & late push

KKR’s batting line-up got off to a poor start, with four wickets gone in less than 50 runs. The likes of Bisla, Gambhir, Pathan, Kallis and Morgan had failed to score more than 20 runs, and the top and middle orders were sent back to the dugout in a jiffy, thanks to a collective effort by Delhi’s bowling line-up that comprised Irfan Pathan, Ashish Nehra, Umesh Yadav, Morne Morkel and Shahbaz Nadeem.

However, from the lower order, Debabrata Das made an effort of 18 runs in 26 balls, followed by Rajat Bhatia, who made 26 runs in 26 deliveries, and Sumit Narwal, who added 23 runs in 15 balls. The surprise was a bombastic batting display from Brett Lee, who scored 16 runs in six balls, helping the Riders post a decent 136 on the board.

The Warner show

Despite the late push from the Riders, 136 was not enough to defend, as David Warner took the game away with ease. He scored 66 runs in 42 balls, whereas Unmukt Chand added a composed 37 runs in 39 balls. Ben Rohrer came onto the crease to finish the game by scoring 10 runs in three balls – Delhi chased the target in 17.5 overs with seven wickets in hand.

Jawans in the stands

The match had also gained limelight for the presence of 120 CRPF anti-n*xal jawans in the stands. “The jawans who were the best in operations were chosen to see this match in the state capital. This is nothing but an initiative to boost the morale of the troopers. Only the jawans were chosen for the free passes of this match and any officer, who wanted to go,” a senior force officer had stated as per ESPNcricinfo.

KKR players had also met the jawans to boost their morale but on the evening of May 13, it is the KKR players will need to similar sort of moral if they wish to reach the playoffs.