With an edge in Head-to-Head record, will KKR can dominate RCB again or will Bengaluru have other plans in mind? You’ll get to know in this KKR vs RCB match prediction IPL 2025 article. You can enjoy this match live and exclusive on Star Sports TV Networks and the JioHotstar app and website.
Kolkata Knight Riders stunned everyone in the last season by their performance, clinching their third title in the IPL history. KKR finished top in the group stage with nine wins, three losses, and two washed out games. They found themself in against SRH in the qualifier and pushed them into the eliminator and reached the final to win the trophy eventually. KKR kept it simple in the auction buying players to fill the gaps left by the players released by them.
KKR have a strong squad with a new and more experienced captain in Ajinkya Rahane to lead the team and do what Iyer did in the year 2024. KKR have brought in experienced players like Quinton de Kock, Rovman Powell and Anrich Nortje in the team to enhance the overall strength of the squad. This season KKR will play to defend their title and continue their dominance.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru have had a mixed IPL 2024 season, Having lost seven games out of their first eight games, RCB came back strongly to win six matches in a row. RCB somehow managed to qualify for the eliminator match against Rajasthan Royals but got kicked out by them. Royal Challengers Bengaluru stepped into the IPL 2025 auction with a mentality of adding bowlers into the squad. RCB did that by adding Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, and Rasikh Salam into the squad.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood are the two best picks by RCB in the bowling department and if Bhuvneshwar and Josh can deliver their best performances, RCB will not have to worry in the bowling department, However, RCB misses out on a quality wrist spinner in the team and have only Suyash Sharma.
The weather at Eden Gardens, Kolkata is not pleasant for the first match of the IPL 2025 between Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bengaluru. With over 40% chances of rain during the match hours. Scattered Thunderstorms are predicted during the match.
A total 95 IPL matches have been played at Eden Gardens and team chasing have enjoyed a clear edge over the team batting first. Team batting second have won 55 matches while team batting first could only manage to win 38 matches. The average first innings score is 166 runs per match.
As per CricOpinion, team chasing will have an advantage to win this match and with chances of rain hovering over the match, chasing becomes more vital in this match. One can bet on the decision of the team choosing to bowl first after winning the toss. RCB have a strong bowling attack and will win this match if they bowl first.
Virat Kohli was sensational last season scoring 741 runs, including a century against Rajasthan Royals. Virat Kohli was the orange cap holder with his exceptional performance with the bat averaging 61.75 per match. Virat also topped the six hitting list with his 38 sixes in 15 innings. Virat will be a great pick against KKR in the first match. He has scored a total of 962 runs in 34 matches against Kolkata Knight Riders which is a solid stat for any batter.
This might be a surprise for a majority of readers but Josh Hazlewood is the best in business bowler to keep an eye on in this IPL. Josh has always performed up to the mark for his times in CSK and RCB. Josh uses his hard test match length to tempt the batters in the early phase of the match and then use his change of pace in the later half of the match to deceive the batter. Josh has taken four wickets against KKR in two matches he has played as an RCB player. He has a strike-rate of 12.00 against KKR which equals to 2 wickets in each match.
As per all the stats and team comparison, RCB have a great squad but their batting lineup revolves around Kohli and Patidar. These two are the only two batters who RCB can rely on, rest of the batters are hit-or-miss kind of players who can perform in one match but will remain unpredictable in the others. However their bowling lineup is outstanding and will test the KKR batting lineup. Keeping the records in mind, the chasing team will win this match.
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