The first match of this year’s Indian Premier League season will be contested between defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders and perennial underachievers Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on March 22.
For the game, here are our preview and predictions.
Indian Premier League 2025 | Match 1: Kolkata Knight Riders vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru | 19:30 IST, March 22
The Knight Riders did well to put together a squad that can challenge for the title again this season despite leaving themselves short on funds following six retentions and spending INR 23.75 crore to bring back Venkatesh Iyer.
KKR have an explosive middle-to-lower batter order, with the likes of Iyer, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, and Ramandeep Singh all possessing the firepower to take down any bowling attack. The duo of Angkrish Raghuvanshi and new skipper Ajinkya Rahane will be crucial in building up the innings through the middle overs.
Moreover, the three-time champions did exceedingly well to keep hold of most of their bowling department, though it’s safe to say both Spencer Johnson and Anrich Nortje are the weakest links in their bowling attack; neither has done enough to light up the IPL yet.
On the other hand, the Royal Challengers Bengaluru, for a change, have finally addressed their most pressing concern—the bowling department. Contributions from the middle order has also been an issue over the years, though the likes of Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma, Tim David, and Krunal Pandya should help in freeing up the top-order batters to play more openly.
That said, RCB’s spin-bowling department is one of the weakest in the league. Pandya isn’t a big turner of the ball, while Livingstone will offer a couple of overs at best. They do have Swapnil Singh and Suyash Sharma in their ranks, though. Singh did well for them in the past and is the safer choice, while Sharma’s leg-spin is something that will entice the RCB management to at least try him out as an Impact Sub.
Looking at their head-to-head records, of the 34 matches played between KKR and RCB in the IPL, KKR have won 20 times, while RCB have defeated them on 14 occasions. Moreover, KKR have won six of the last eight encounters with RCB since 2018, including a seven-wicket victory in their last meeting at Bengaluru.
The surface at the Eden Gardens is mostly flat and provides ideal bounce. This means batters will enjoy their time on the pitch, so we can expect a big score. However, as the match progresses, the pitch slows down, which should benefit the spinners.
As per the weather forecast, 65% rain is expected in the afternoon of March 22, though the weather is expected to be clear during the match hours with 74% humidity. Expect the winning captain to field first.
Fantasy XI: Quinton de Kock, Phil Salt, Virat Kohli (c), Ventakesh Iyer, Rajat Patidar, Ajinkya Rahane, Sunil Narine (vc), Andre Russell, Liam Livingstone, Varun Chakravarthy, Harshit Rana
Venue: Eden Gardens, Kolkata
Winners Prediction: Kolkata Knight Riders
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