Eden Gardens is all set to host the KKR vs RCB IPL 2025 campaign opener in Kolkata on March 22. The match starts from 7.30 pm IST with this being the 18th season of the cash-rich league. Eden Gardens will also host the Qualifier 2 and the final.
Ajinkya Rahane was named the KKR captain ahead of the season. With Shreyas Iyer gone, KKR are banking on the seasoned and experienced Rahane to help them defend their title. They have shown faith in their core and retained them ahead of the season. They had to let go of Iyer, Phil Salt and Mitchell Starc who were there three key performers from the last season.
For RCB, it has been always about Virat Kohli. Once again the focus is on him as they are eyeing their maiden IPL title. They surprised everyone by naming Rajat Patidar as their skipper for the season. While they have good batting depth, they have tried to address their bowling concerns by adding Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood to their squad.
Also Read: KKR vs RCB Match Preview & Where to Watch Live? IPL 2025 Match 1
RCB coach Andy Flower has already started mind games ahead of the match. He said that KKR will be under pressure to win at their own home ground. Overall, KKR have a better head to head record against RCB. However, at Eden Gardens, both teams have won two each in the last four games. Since the start of 2021, KKR have won six out of the seven matches against KKR.
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KKR vs RCB Pitch Report Eden Gardens, Kolkata
The pitch at Eden Gardens is among the flattest wickets in the IPL. Last year, Punjab Kings chased down 261 with overs to spare against KKR. If the pitch plays anything similar to how it played last year, we can see a lot of high-scoring games. This opener has all the ingredients of being a high-scoring game as well. Eden Gardens, as opposed to the early years in the IPL has been producing belters off late.
KKR vs RCB Weather Update
The weather forecast for the IPL 2025 opener is not good. There is rain on the horizon with the city being put on orange alert. There is rain expected in Kolkata between 6 PM to 11 PM on Saturday. As per recent reports in the Hindustan Times, the KKR vs RCB match is likely to be abandoned with the city under threat of heavy rainfall. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast thunderstorms, lightning and rainfall in Kolkata until March 22, owing to an anticyclonic circulation over the Bay of Bengal.
KKR vs RCB Squads
KKR- Quinton de Kock(w), Sunil Narine, Ajinkya Rahane(c), Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy, Spencer Johnson, Vaibhav Arora, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Manish Pandey, Moeen Ali, Anrich Nortje, Rovman Powell, Anukul Roy, Mayank Markande, Chetan Sakariya, Luvnith Sisodia
RCB- Virat Kohli, Philip Salt, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar(c), Jitesh Sharma(w), Liam Livingstone, Tim David, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Yash Dayal, Swapnil Singh, Lungi Ngidi, Romario Shepherd, Manoj Bhandage, Rasikh Dar Salam, Nuwan Thushara, Jacob Bethell, Suyash Sharma, Mohit Rathee, Swastik Chikara, Abhinandan Singh
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