IPL 2025, KKR vs RCB Match 1 Preview: Kolkata Knight Riders will be up against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the opening clash of the IPL 2025. Know all details here.
Last Updated: 05.59 PM, Mar 21, 2025
The defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) are all set to take on Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the opening encounter of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on March 22.
During the IPL mega auction, Kolkata Knight Riders retained six players from the previous year's winning squad, including Sunil Narine, Varun Chakravarthy, Rinku Singh, Harshit Rana, Andre Russell, and Ramandeep Singh. On the other hand, Royal Challengers Bengaluru retained only three players from its previous squad, including Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, and Yash Dayal.
The match is expected to be a cracking contest between the teams as they lock horns against each other in the opening clash of the IPL 2025. Both KKR and RCB will be led by their newly appointed skippers, Ajinkya Rahane and Rajat Patidar, respectively. When it comes to either team having an upper hand, it would be Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) with the home crowd having their back.
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) have been up against each other 34 times in the IPL. KKR has been the dominant side with 20 wins, while RCB has only won 14 matches.
In the last season, KKR and RCB played two matches against each other, with KKR winning on both occasions.
The first match of the IPL 2025 between KKR and RCB will be played on Saturday, March 22, at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. The live action will begin at 7:30 PM IST.
The pitch at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata can turn out to be a high-scoring deck where batters might give nightmares to the bowlers. During the last season, a match between KKR and PBKS turned out to be a run fest where Punjab chased down the mammoth score of 262 runs. So, bowlers from both sides will have to rely on variations to deceive the batters.
The weather forecast for the IPL opener doesn't look promising, as the rain could potentially play a spoilsport. The match can even end up getting thoroughly washed out with both teams getting one point each.
Cricket fans can watch the live action between KKR and RCB on Star Sports Network. The match will also be live-streamed digitally on JioHotstar.
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR): Anjikya Rahane ©, Quinton de Kock (wk), Sunil Narine, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Anrich Nortje, Harshit Rana, and Varun Chakravarthy.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB): Rajat Patidar ©, Phil Salt, Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Krunal Pandya, Tim David, Josh Hazlewood, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Yash Dayal.
1. Phil Salt (RCB): The newest addition to the RCB team, Phil Salt, would be a key player to watch out for in the opening clash against KKR. He previously represented KKR in the IPL 2024 and has a good record playing at the Eden Gardens.
2. Virat Kohli (RCB): One cannot really rule out the impact that Virat brings to the game. The leading run-scorer of the previous IPL season would like to have a positive start against KKR.
3. Sunil Narine (KKR): A magician with the ball and impactful with the bat, Sunil Narine has proven to be a key player for Kolkata Knight Riders over the years. The player would be eager to display an all-round performance in the IPL 2025 opener.
4. Andre Russell: Another all-round sensation from KKR, Andre Russell holds a great batting record while playing RCB. The player would like to come up with a similar intent against its best opponent.