The 18th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL-2025) will kick off with an epic clash between defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on Saturday, March 22, 2025. The KKR vs RCB IPL 2025 Opener match is scheduled to take place at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
In the captaincy of Shreyas Iyer, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) won thei r third crown in IPL 2024. The Gautam Gambhir’s men beat Pat Cummins-led Sunrisers Hyderabad by 8 wickets.
On the other hand, the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB)’s start was buzzing in IPL 2024 with one win out of two, but they went on to lose the next six games to take bottom place. The poor run, however, could not stop RCB from making a late return. They finally defeated the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in their final group match to qualify for the playoffs. However, they could not make it past the Rajasthan Royals in the Eliminator, the three time finalists showcased ample resilience.
KKR vs RCB IPL 2025 Opener Weather Report:
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecasted thunderstorms and rain for South Bengal from Thursday to Sunday. For March 22, on the day of KKR vs RCB IPL 2025 opener, an Orange Alert has been issued while a Yellow Alert has been issued for Sunday.
Watch KKR vs RCB IPL 2025 Opener Weather Update:
KKR vs RCB IPL 2025 Opener Pitch Report:
The wicket at the Eden Gardens is known for batting-friendly, especially in T20 cricket. The pitch surface is generally flat, which offers good bounce, making it very conductive to stroke play. However, it is still not as flat as the pitches in Hyderabad or Bengaluru this year. The best thing is on this pitch is as the match progresses, spinners can chime in on the action to do maximum damage. Teams winning the toss at Eden Gardens should ideally choose to bat first.
Who will lead KKR in KKR vs RCB IPL 2025 Opener?
This season (IPL 2025), Ajinkya Rahane is set to lead the KKR’s campaign with Shreyas Iyer leaving for the Punjab Kings.
Who will lead RCB in KKR vs RCB IPL 2025 Opener?
This season (IPL 2025), Rajat Patidar will lead the RCB’s campaign with Faf du Plessis moving to the Delhi Capitals.
KKR vs RCB IPL 2025 Opener Squads:
KKR: Ajinkya Rahane (C), Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Manish Pandey, Ramandeep Singh, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Anukul Roy, Moeen Ali, Rovman Powell, Sunil Narine, Venkatesh Iyer, Luvnith Sisodia (wk), Quinton de Kock (wk), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Anrich Nortje, Chetan Sakariya, Harshit Rana, Mayank Markande, Spencer Johnson, Umran Malik, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakaravarthy
RCB: Devdatt Pdikkal, Rajat Patidar (C), Swastik Chikara, Tim David, Virat Kohli, Jacob Bethell, Krunal Pandya, Liam Livingstone, Manoj Bhandage, Mohit Rathee, Romario Shepherd, Swapnil Singh, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Phil Salt (wk), Abhinandan Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Lungi Ngidi, Nuwan Thushara, Rasikh Salam, Suyash Sharma, Yash Dayal.