IPL 2025 is set to get underway with a clash between KKR and RCB at the Eden Gardens. Here's everything you need to know ahead of the game.
IPL 2025, KKR vs RCB: Live commentary
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Match 1, Kolkata Knight Riders vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru
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IPL 2025, KKR vs RCB: Playing XIs
KKR playing XI: Venkatesh Iyer, Quinton de Kock (wk), Ajinkya Rahane (c), Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Rinku Singh, Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy, Spencer Johnson.
RCB playing XI: Phil Salt (wk), Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar (c), Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma , Tim David, Krunal Pandya, Rasikh Dar, Suyash Sharma, Josh Hazlewood, Yash Dayal.
IPL 2025, KKR vs RCB: Toss
Rajat Patidar has won the toss, and RCB will field first. KKR skipper Ajinkya Rahane says he would have done so as well.
IPL 2025, KKR vs RCB: Team news
The biggest discussion around defending champions KKR in recent weeks has been the change in captaincy. Title-winning skipper Shreyas Iyer was not among the six retained players, and they couldn't buy him back in the player auction either. His Mumbai team-mate Ajinkya Rahane, who was picked up at the auction after being unsold once, has taken over the side. How this dynamic plays out, and whether Rahane can re-discover his best form, might be key to KKR getting off to a good start this year.
RCB have also had a change in skipper, from Faf du Plessis to Rajat Patidar, who led Madhya Pradesh to the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy final in December 2024. This season, for a change, it's their bowling lineup that looks quite solid. They still boast a fearsome top three in Virat Kohli, Phil Salt and Patidar. Their middle-order is slightly volatile but if it clicks, it could well end up being their year.
IPL 2025, KKR vs RCB: Match prediction
History can go out the window when the squads are shaken up like this after a mega-auction, but KKR have won the last four matches in a row between these sides – thrice scoring 200-plus batting first and the other time chasing 183 in 16.5 overs. One of the key battles to look out for is KKR's spinners, Varun Chakravarthy and Sunil Narine, against RCB's top order. Salt and Kohli have had their fair share of struggles with spin in the past, but Patidar has the ability to be severe on the slower bowlers.
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