The Indian Premier League 2025 (IPL 2025) opener will see the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) take on the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on Saturday, March 22.
The IPL 2025 opening match between Ajinkya Rahane-led KKR and Rajat Patidar-led RCB is being hosted by the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata and the stadium has been packed with the fans.
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It is the first time since they played the inaugural game of the Indian Premier League that the Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bengaluru will open the campaign against each other in the marquee T20 league.
Both the teams will be playing the Indian Premier League 2025 under a new captain as Ajinkya Rahane has replaced Shreyas Iyer at the helm in the squad of the defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders.
Meanwhile, the Madhya Pradesh star Rajat Patidar has been handed the responsibility to lead arguably the most popular Indian Premier League franchise, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, replacing Faf du Plessis as the skipper.
Overall, Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bengaluru have locked horns with each other 34 times in the Indian Premier League with the Knight Riders leading by 20-14 in the head-to-head battle.
In the previous edition of the Indian Premier League, Kolkata Knight Riders beat the Royal Challengers Bengaluru in both matches. Also, they dominate the recent head-to-head record as, since the start of the UAE leg of IPL 2021, KKR have won six of their last seven matches against RCB.
IPL 2025: RCB win the toss and opt to bowl first
🚨Toss🚨
It’s Game 1⃣ and @RCBTweets won the toss and elected to field against @KKRiders
Updates ▶️ https://t.co/C9xIFpQDTn#TATAIPL | #KKRvRCB pic.twitter.com/6O1pRU8ScS
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) March 22, 2025
Speaking after winning the toss, Rajat Patidar said that they would look to restrict KKR to a low score. He also expressed his delight over getting the opportunity to lead the Royal Challengers Bengaluru. He elaborated:
“We have decided to bowl first. The wicket looks decent. It is a hard surface. I think, bowling first, we will look to restrict them as early as possible and go for it.
“It feels amazing to lead RCB. There are some great players in the squad. It is a great opportunity to learn from them. The preparation has been good. Last 10-15 days, we have been preparing well. The boys are feeling good. I am pretty much confused about the playing XI with the impact player rule. We are going with three pacers and two spinners.”
Meanwhile, the KKR skipper Ajinkya Rahane said that he is honored to lead the Knight Riders and added that they have got a good squad. He elaborated:
“Feeling really good. First of all it is an honour for me to lead this wonderful franchise. Really looking forward to this game and also the season.
“Yeah, the core group remains the same. We have played really good cricket last season and we want to continue the same this season as well. Weather is something you cannot control so we want to play good cricket tonight.
“Absolutely, everyone have settled in pretty quickly. There is nothing much to say or do, we have given them all the freedom to play their natural game and also play as a unit.
“Yes, we were looking to field as well. We are going with a combination of 3 fast bowlers and 2 spinners.”
IPL 2025: List of Impact players nominated by KKR and RCB
Kolkata Knight Riders Impact Subs: Anrich Nortje, Manish Pandey, Vaibhav Arora, Anukul Roy, Luvnith Sisodia
Royal Challengers Bengaluru Impact Subs: Devdutt Padikkal, Abhinandan Singh, Manoj Bhandage, Romario Shepherd, Swapnil Singh
IPL 2025: KKR vs RCB – Playing XIs
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (Playing XI): Virat Kohli, Philip Salt(w), Rajat Patidar(c), Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma, Tim David, Krunal Pandya, Rasikh Dar Salam, Suyash Sharma, Josh Hazlewood, Yash Dayal
Kolkata Knight Riders (Playing XI): Quinton de Kock(w), Venkatesh Iyer, Ajinkya Rahane(c), Rinku Singh, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Spencer Johnson, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy
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