IPL 2025 Season Opener

Kolkata Knight Riders vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru

March 22, 2025 | 7:30 PM IST | Eden Gardens, Kolkata

Weather Warning: Orange Alert Issued

Thunderstorms with 20-30mm rainfall predicted during match hours

Match Preview: A Storm Brewing at Eden

Not since Brendon McCullum's iconic 158* in the inaugural IPL has an opening night promised such fireworks...

Kolkata Knight Riders

Home Record (Since 2023)

50% Win Rate

Probable XII

• Sunil Narine, Quinton de Kock (wk), Ajinkya Rahane (c), Venkatesh lyer, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Spencer Johnson, Vaibhav Arora, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy

Tactical Briefing

With Mitchell Starc's departure, KKR's bowling strategy undergoes...

Royal Challengers Bengaluru

Away Record (Since 2023)

50% Win Rate

Probable XII

• Phil Salt, Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar (c), Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Tim David, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Yash Dayal, Suyash Sharma/Rasikh Dar Salam

Spin Challenge

RCB's middle-order vulnerability against quality spin...

Eden Gardens: The Numbers Game

Runs/Over (Since 2023)

9.98

200+ Totals (Last 2 seasons)

12

KKR vs RCB H2H (Since 2021)

6-1 in KKR's favor

Key Storylines

"I did well in the last tournament but still IPL is a different beast and I very well know what's coming my way and I have to be on my toes." - Varun Chakaravarthy

Full Squads

KKR Squad

• Kolkata Knight Riders Squad: Quinton de Kock(w), Sunil Narine, Ajinkya Rahane(c), Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Venkatesh lyer, 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 Squad

• Royal Challengers Bengaluru Squad: 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