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Defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will take on Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the opening clash of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 at the iconic Eden Gardens on Saturday (March 22). While KKR lifted the trophy last season with a dominant campaign, RCB once again fell short, suffering an Eliminator exit, extending their long wait for a maiden IPL title.
In a major leadership shift this year, KKR have entrusted veteran cricketer Ajinkya Rahane with captaincy, hoping his experience will guide them to back-to-back titles. On the other hand, RCB has handed over the reins to emerging star Rajat Patidar, marking a bold new era for the franchise as they continue their pursuit of elusive IPL glory.
Match Details: IPL 2025, Match 1
- Date and Time: March 22, 07:30 pm (IST)/ 02:00 pm (GMT)
- Venue: Eden Gardens, Kolkata
Eden Gardens Pitch Report:
Eden Gardens in Kolkata is celebrated for delivering thrilling, high-scoring encounters, making it a dream venue for batters. The pitch traditionally favours free-flowing stroke play, offering an ideal platform for aggressive shot-making and boundary-hitting. While spinners may come into play as the match progresses, the surface primarily encourages big-hitting spectacles, setting the stage for an electrifying contest between the teams.
KKR vs RCB Dream11 Prediction Picks:
- Wicketkeepers: Quinton de Kock, Phil Salt
- Batters: Virat Kohli, Venkatesh Iyer, Rajat Patidar, Rinku Singh
- All-rounders: Sunil Narine, Andre Russell
- Bowlers: Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazelwood, Varun Chakravarthy
KKR vs RCB Dream11 Prediction Captain and Vice-Captain:
- Choice 1: Sunil Narine (c),Virat Kohli (vc)
- Choice 2: Varun Chakravarthy (c), Josh Hazelwood (vc)
KKR vs RCB Dream11 Prediction Backups:
Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Ramandeep Singh, Phil Salt, Jitesh Sharma
KKR vs RCB Dream11 Team for today’s match (March 22, 02:00 PM GMT):
Squads:
Kolkata Knight Riders: Rinku Singh, Quinton de Kock, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Venkatesh Iyer, Ramandeep Singh, Andre Russell, Anrich Nortje, Harshit Rana, Sunil Narine, Varun Chakravarthy, Vaibhav Arora, Mayank Markhande, Rovman Powell, Manish Pandey, Spencer Johnson, Luvnith Sisodia, Ajinkya Rahane, Anukul Roy, Moeen Ali, Chetan Sakariya
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Rajat Patidar (captain), Virat Kohli, Yash Dayal, Josh Hazlewood, Phil Salt, Jitesh Sharma, Liam Livingstone, Rasikh Dar, Suyash Sharma, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Swapnil Singh, Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Nuwan Thushara, Manoj Bhandage, Jacob Bethell, Devdutt Padikkal, Swastik Chhikara, Lungi Ngidi, Abhinandan Singh, Mohit Rathee
