Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) shall be the first to contest for points in the second phase of IPL 2025, engaging against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. It has been a brilliant season for RCB so far, with a record of eight wins out of 11 matches and 16 points. They just need one more win to guarantee a playoff position and stand a chance to claim a top-two finish. Let it be an interesting trivia that this isn't the first time IPL got paused midway and that RCB had played the very first game after resumption. The same was in 2021; the event got suspended due to the COVID-19 outbreak; the remaining matches were then played in the UAE from September. There exist some terrific similarities between RCB's 2021 campaign and this 2025 season in the making. ๐จ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐๐ฌ: ๐๐๐ฏ๐ข๐ฌ๐๐ ๐๐๐ก๐๐๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ง๐ง๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐๐๐We restart our campaign on the 17th of May at เฒจเฒฎเณเฒฎ Chinnaswamy, against KKR! Mark your calendars, 12th Man Army. We’re ready to #PlayBold again! ๐คฉ#เฒจเฒฎเณเฒฎRCB #IPL2025 pic.twitter.com/hN4K0BqOUz — Royal Challengers Bengaluru (@RCBTweets) May 12, 2025 Following the initial phase of IPL 2021, RCB went on a rampage with four consecutive wins against Mumbai Indians (MI), Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), KKR, and Rajasthan Royals (RR). In the latter part of the first phase, they lost two of the three, remaining third on the points table with five wins in seven matches. Moving on to 2025, RCB surely appeared to take up where it left off, recording four consecutive victories before the season break against Punjab Kings (PBKS), RR, Delhi Capitals (DC), and Chennai Super Kings (CSK). Sitting second at the top of the table with 16 points, they have eight wins from 11 matches and are holding strong within the top four during the season's hiatus, just like in 2021. Also READ: Moeen Ali, Meg Lanning awarded MCC Honorary Life Membership It was the first match after the resumption of the 2021 season at Abu Dhabi, and RCB had the first match against KKR as well. Unfortunately, the game was a disappointing one for them as they could manage just 92 runs and lost by nine wickets. Will RCB-GGBK once again be the first match in the new schedule? But now, with the home advantage, Bangalore will take the stage on Saturday, May 17.