New rules and new captains will be in focus but the razzmatazz will be pretty much the same when the 18th Indian Premier League kicks off on Saturday with defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders taking on perennial underachievers Royal Challengers Bengaluru amid a looming threat of rain
The defending champions, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will lock horns against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the iconic Eden Gardens, on Saturday, March 22, to kick-start the much-awaited Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season. (Match Blog | Scorecard | Full Coverage)
These two IPL juggernauts have a long history in this tournament and this will be the second time that these two sides will take on each other in the first game of the Indian Premier League season.
The first instance was when KKR and RCB first faced each other, back in 2008 at Bengaluru's M Chinnaswamy Stadium, where KKR won.
KKR and RCB have gone head-to-head with each other 34 times through 17 seasons of the IPL with the reigning champions holding the edge. Kolkata Knight Riders have won 20 to Royal Challengers Bengaluru's 14 wins.
A total of 93 IPL matches have been held at Eden Gardens, with teams batting second emerging victorious 55 times, to teams batting first winning 38 times.
Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a warning with thunderstorms, lightning, and gusty winds expected in Kolkata. The weather will also remain rainy with chances of precipitation high in the morning and low but significant in the evening as well.
Kolkata was a high scoring venue last season but with the rain making the conditions moist, a difficult batting track can not be ruled out. With the surface offering good pace and bounce, pacers could be in for a good time if the pitch actually retains some moisture.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru Squad: Virat Kohli, Philip Salt, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar(c), Jitesh Sharma(w), Liam Livingstone, Tim David, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Yash Dayal, Swapnil Singh, Lungi Ngidi, Romario Shepherd, Manoj Bhandage, Rasikh Dar Salam, Nuwan Thushara, Jacob Bethell, Suyash Sharma, Mohit Rathee, Swastik Chikara, Abhinandan Singh
Kolkata Knight Riders Squad: Quinton de Kock(w), Sunil Narine, Ajinkya Rahane(c), Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy, Spencer Johnson, Vaibhav Arora, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Manish Pandey, Moeen Ali, Anrich Nortje, Rovman Powell, Anukul Roy, Mayank Markande, Chetan Sakariya, Luvnith Sisodi