Sports
The king vs the hitman: Five iconic RCB-MI clashes that defined IPL rivalry
From Wankhede thrillers to Super Over drama, Kohli and Rohit reignite rivalry ahead
MUMBAI: Cricket’s fiercest modern rivalry is set to return as Royal Challengers Bengaluru take on Mumbai Indians on April 12, 2026, reigniting a contest that has come to define the emotional core of the Indian Premier League.
Beyond points and playoff equations, this fixture has become synonymous with the duel between two of Indian cricket’s biggest names, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. One carries the reputation of relentless pursuit, the other the legacy of five title-winning campaigns, and together they have turned this rivalry into appointment viewing.
Over the years, RCB and MI have delivered moments that live long in the memory. From record-breaking partnerships to last-ball finishes, the contest has repeatedly swung between dominance and drama.
In 2015 at Wankhede, Kohli and AB de Villiers produced a breathtaking 215-run stand, dismantling Mumbai’s attack and setting a benchmark for IPL batting brilliance. Three years later in 2018, Rohit Sharma answered with authority, smashing 94 off 52 balls after MI were rocked early, steering his side to a commanding total.
The 2020 Dubai encounter added a new layer of tension as the match went into a Super Over. Kohli held his nerve against Jasprit Bumrah in a finish that showcased fine margins and sharper tactical battles between the two sides.
Controversy followed in 2019 when a missed no-ball call on the final delivery handed MI a narrow win. A fuming Virat Kohli famously stated,, “We are not playing club cricket,” reflecting the intensity and stakes of the rivalry.
More recently, in 2025, RCB finally broke their long-standing Wankhede jinx, securing their first win at the venue in a decade and signalling what many fans called a shift in momentum.
With the next chapter set to unfold, anticipation is building once again. Whether it is Kohli’s elegance under pressure or Rohit’s calm leadership, this fixture continues to deliver theatre, tension and turning points in equal measure.
As the teams prepare to clash again, fans can expect another high-voltage evening where reputations are tested and history is never far away.
Sports
KKR takes Korbo, Lorbo, Jeetbo across India in seven languages this IPL season
From a four-storey mural in Kolkata to team buses in Chennai and Ahmedabad, KKR is turning a cricket campaign into a cultural one
KOLKATA: Kolkata Knight Riders have never been shy about making noise. This IPL season, they are making it in seven languages.
The franchise has rolled out one of the more ambitious branding exercises of the TATA IPL 2026 season, combining a sprawling outdoor campaign in its home city with a travelling multilingual initiative that takes the team’s iconic slogan, Korbo, Lorbo, Jeetbo, into the regional language of every away city it plays in.
In Kolkata, the campaign is impossible to miss. More than 75,000 square feet of outdoor space has been commandeered across the city, encompassing 65 billboards at key locations, branded pillars and pole kiosks along major routes, LED boards and metro branding. The centrepiece is a hand-painted mural across the full face of a four-storey building on Rashbehari Avenue near Bijan Setu. Inspired by the theme Prothom Bhalobasha KKR, meaning “first love” in Bengali, the mural features players Varun Chakravarthy, Ajinkya Rahane and Rinku Singh alongside the franchise’s famous rallying cry. It has already become a fan pilgrimage site, drawing crowds and generating considerable traction on social media.
Beyond Kolkata, KKR is doing something rather cleverer. As the team travels for away fixtures, its team bus carries the franchise slogan translated into the local language of each host city. The campaign began in Mumbai ahead of KKR’s first away game on 29th March, with the Marathi adaptation on display. Over the course of the season, the initiative will span seven cities and seven languages: Marathi in Mumbai, Tamil in Chennai, Gujarati in Ahmedabad, Hindi in Lucknow and Delhi, Telugu in Hyderabad, and Chhattisgarhi in Raipur.
Binda Dey, chief marketing officer of Knight Riders Sports, was candid about what the campaign is trying to achieve. “This season, we wanted to go beyond visibility and create moments of genuine cultural connection for our fans,” she said. “When fans in Chennai see Korbo, Lorbo, Jeetbo in Tamil, or fans in Ahmedabad see it in Gujarati, we want that to feel like a moment of recognition, not just advertising. Combined with our outdoor campaign in Kolkata that gives us mass visibility in our home market, we’re building a campaign that is as much about identity and pride as it is about cricket.”
The branding push sits alongside a wider set of fan engagement initiatives this season, including Knights Unplugged 3.0, the VIDA Knights Electrifying Box Cricket tournament and fan meet-ups across cities.
KKR, it is worth remembering, is not merely a cricket team. The Knight Riders brand spans four franchises across four countries, with nine trophies between them, including three IPL titles in 2012, 2014 and 2024. It is one of the more commercially sophisticated operations in world T20 cricket, and this campaign reflects that instinct precisely. In a sport where every franchise is chasing the same eyeballs, KKR has decided that the smartest way to stand out is not to shout louder, but to speak in the right tongue. Seven cities, seven languages, one battle cry. The purple and gold, it turns out, travels rather well.
