The opening match of 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL Season 18) is scheduled to play between Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on March 22. This will be a blockbuster clash where the defending champions KKR will face RCB at the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata. The match 1 of IPL 2025 – KKR vs RCB will begin at 7:30 PM and toss related to this game will be done at 7:00 PM.
Here’s all about KKR vs RCB (Opening match of IPL 2025):
- Teams: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB)
- Venue: Eden Gardens, Kolkata
- Date: March 22, 2025
- Time: 7:30 PM IST
- Where to Watch Live: JioHotstar app, Start Sports (TV), and hotstar.com
Team Updates
- KKR squad: Ajinkya Rahane will lead the KKR team for season 18 of IPL. The key players of Kolkata Knight Riders include Sunil Narine, Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, and Quinton de Kock. Their bowling attack features Varun Chakravarthy, Harshit Rana, and Anrich Nortje.
- RCB squad: Rajat Patidar is the captain of RCB team, who succeeded Faf du Plessis. The key player of Royal Challengers Bengaluru are Star batter Virat Kohli, along with Phil Salt, Liam Livingstone, and Josh Hazlewood, will be crucial. RCB finished fourth in IPL 2024 but lost in the Eliminator.
Head-to-Head Record
- KKR played with RCB 34 times in past 17 seasons of IPL, and as per the records it looks KKR is strong. The winning of chance of KKR is high as compared to RCB.
- Additionally, KKR playing the opening match with RCB in home ground. KKR has advantage of home conditions and the records also tell that at Eden garden KKR secured 8 victories in 12 matches against RCB.
Pitch and Weather Conditions
Pitch
The Eden Gardens pitch, which is considered a paradise for batsmen, still retains its identity. The surface here gives batsmen the right bounce and a chance to score fast runs in the beginning. This quality of the pitch helps teams to get off to a great start, and the average first innings score in recent IPL matches has been around 196-200. This figure clearly shows how beneficial batting here can be.
However, the pace of the pitch at Eden Gardens can slow down a bit in the second half of the match, which proves to be helpful for spin bowlers. Spinners bowling on a pitch with slow pace can get the advantage of turn and bounce, which can prove to be challenging for batsmen. Therefore, teams will have to keep this aspect in mind in their strategy as well.
Weather Conditions
The weather in Kolkata today has raised concerns for sports lovers. According to the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) and AccuWeather, an orange alert has been issued for Kolkata due to an anticyclonic circulation in the Bay of Bengal. There is a 74-90% chance of rain and thundershowers this evening. If there is heavy rain, the match may be interrupted or even cancelled.
However, the excellent drainage facility of Eden Gardens brings a ray of hope. If the rain stops by the evening, then there may be a possibility of the match starting. But, the teams will have to prepare their strategy keeping this aspect of the weather in mind.
Key Players to Watch
- KKR: Sunil Narine (batting and bowling), Andre Russell (all-round impact), and Venkatesh Iyer (middle-order stability).
- RCB: Virat Kohli (leading run-scorer against KKR with 962 runs), Rajat Patidar (middle-order aggression), and Josh Hazlewood (pace bowling).
Match Prediction
As per the cricket experts, KKR might win the opening match against RCB. KKR is the defending champion and the team is also quite strong + the previous records of this team against RCB shows KKR is king!
Apart from that Eden gardens is the home ground of KKR, they practice on this ground a lot, they know the conditions from inside out, they now what should be the right score when opt for bat, and how to chase the score, what should be required run rate during score chase etc. So experts believe, KKR will win this match!
Where to Watch KKR vs RCB?
Everyone in India is waiting for IPL and the first match of season 18 is scheduled to play between Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). So if you want to watch KKR vs RCB live, then worry not, the BCCI has arranged the streaming facility.
- Cable TV/Satellite TV users can watch IPL on Star Sports Network (English and Hindi commentary)
- Mobile and Smart TV users can watch live streaming of IPL online on JioHotstar app or login on hotstar.com website
This match of KKR vs RCB promises excitement, but the weather could play spoilsport. Stay tuned for updates on https://greengroundsports.com and don’t forget to share.
