Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) take on Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) as Rajat Patidar won the toss and elected to bowl first at the iconic Eden Gardens stadium on March 22.
The defending champions, led by Ajinkya Rahane, have entered the current IPL 2025 season with a significantly reshaped team, marked by a change in captaincy. Simultaneously, RCB have also embraced a new leadership dynamic, with Rajat Patidar taking the helm.
In their opening match of IPL 2025, both teams opted for a similar bowling strategy, fielding a combination of three seam bowlers and two spin bowlers. However, a notable omission from the team sheets was the experienced seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
What did the captains say?
After losing the toss KKR skipper Ajinkya Rahane said:
"It's an honour to lead this team. Our preparation has been good, the core group has been the same. Looking forward to bat well first and defend later on. It is all about giving the players the freedom and allow them to play as a unit. We are playing 3 fast bowlers and 2 spinners."
Meanwhile, RCB captain Rajat Patidar, after winning the toss, said:
"We have decided to bowl first, the pitch looks hard. Amazing to lead RCB and great opportunity to learn from the great players. We have done proper preparations for the last 10-15 days. I am confused with this impact player. We are going with 4 fast bowlers and 2 spinners."
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
KKR vs RCB Head-to-Head record
The head-to-head record between the two franchises reveals a clear advantage for KKR. Out of the 34 IPL matches played between them, KKR has emerged victorious 20 times, while RCB has secured 14 wins. RCB will be aiming to narrow this gap and break their recent losing streak against KKR, as their last victory against the Kolkata-based team occurred three years ago in 2022.