Before the RCB vs. SRH match, former IPL teammates Virat Kohli and Muttiah Muralitharan briefly catch up. WATCH

At the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Monday, the Royal Challengers Bengaluru and the in-form Sunrisers Hyderabad will square off as two formidable teams from the southern region of India.

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Due to the thrilling matches that SRH and RCB have previously delivered, there has been a lot of anticipation for this one. Virat Kohli and Muttiah Muralitharan, the master spinner from Sri Lanka, got back together on Sunday during a practice session at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, ahead of their highly anticipated IPL 2024 encounter. As Kohli finished his batting practice in the nets, the two could be seen shaking hands.

The Sunrisers Hyderabad bowling coach at the moment is Muttiah Muralitharan. The Chennai Super Kings were represented by Murali, as he is affectionately known, for the first three tournaments (2008–2010) until he joined the now-defunct Kochi Tuskers Kerala in 2011. He played for Kochi for one season before being acquired by RCB in 2012, where he remained until 2014 before turning to coaching.

During his three seasons as an RCB player, Muttiah Muralitharan shared a dressing room with Virat Kohli. He amassed 21 wickets at an economy rate of only 7.10 and an average of 26.71 while playing 21 games. His highest bowling average for the RCB against the Chennai Super Kings came on April 12, 2012, at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, with a total of 3/21.

Returning to RCB, the team captained by Faf du Plessis has a steep hill to climb as the second half of the 2024 Indian Premier League season approaches. After six games, RCB has only managed one victory, losing the other five. They are now ranked last in the IPL 2024 rankings as a consequence of their performance. They have no chance of reaching the playoffs unless they put up an incredible amount of work from now on. Their only victory in the tournament came on March 25 against PBKS.

In the meantime, SRH has had a respectable start to the 2017 IPL season, having won three and lost two of their first five matches. SRH, in fourth place, seems to have found the perfect balance in their starting lineup and is certain to qualify for the playoffs this year.