As the IPL 2025 is approaching, the excitement is also increasing its steps in cricket fans and IPL lovers. The 2025 edition of the Indian Premier League is set to kick off on 22 March, with the battle between Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bengaluru. In this match there are some key player battles that will be interesting to see because these battles can play a very important role in the result of the match. In this article we have brought five such player battles for the first match of the IPL 2025. Player Battles to Watch in KKR vs RCB Sr. no Player Battles 1 Bhuvneshwar Kumar vs Ajinkya Rahane 2 Bhuvneshwar Kumar vs Manish Pandey 3 Sunil Narine vs Rajat Patidar 4 Varun Chakravarthy vs Virat Kohli 5 Andre Russell vs Yash Dayal Bhuvneshwar Kumar vs Ajinkya Rahane Image Source: BCCI & PTI Year Runs Balls Outs Dots 4s 6s SR Avg 2012 17 15 1 7 3 0 113.3 17.0 2013 11 7 1 3 2 0 157.1 11.0 2014 9 14 1 9 1 0 64.3 9.0 2015 26 19 1 9 5 0 136.8 26.0 2016 0 8 2 8 0 0 0.0 0.0 2017 6 12 0 6 0 0 50.0 - 2018 2 3 0 1 0 0 66.7 - 2019 18 18 0 11 3 0 100.0 - 2022 1 7 0 6 0 0 14.3 - 2024 14 14 1 7 2 0 100.0 14.0 Total 104 117 7 67 16 0 88.9 14.9 The first player battle on our list is between RCB veteran pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar and KKR new skipper Ajinkya Rahane. In this battle Bhuvneshwar Kumar has dominated Ajinkya Rahane Everytime they faced each other. In 117 balls KKR skipper has just scored 104 runs with a strike rate of 88.9 and has been dismissed seven times in the battle. These numbers clearly show the pacer has the upper hand on the batter. Once more this contest is going to be interesting to see in the very first match of the IPL 2025. Also Read | Top 5 RCB Players Who Can Be Game-Changers in IPL 2025 Bhuvneshwar Kumar vs Manish Pandey Image Source: BCCI Year Runs Balls Outs Dots 4s 6s SR Avg 2015 9 6 0 0 1 0 150.0 - 2016 4 7 2 3 0 0 57.1 2.0 2017 7 6 2 2 0 0 116.7 3.5 2023 2 3 0 1 0 0 66.7 - Total 22 22 4 6 1 0 100.0 5.5 Another playera battle which will be interesting to see in the first match of the IPL 2025. In this battle Manish Pandey has faced 22 balls against the veteran pacer and he has just scored 22 runs with strike rate of 100. In 22 balls Manish Pandey got dismissed four times which means Bhuvneshwar Kumar has dominated this battle as well. If Manish Pandey gets a chance to play in the first contest between RCB and KKR, he will have a chance to fix his stats. Sunil Narine vs Rajat Patidar Image Source: BCCI/Associated Press Year Runs Balls Outs Dots 4s 6s SR Avg 2024 17 9 0 2 0 2 188.9 - Total 17 9 0 2 0 2 188.9 - This game between Sunil Narine and Rajat Patidar could be the most interesting and match defining battle. Patidar, the new skipper of RCB has so far dominated KKR spinners. In nine balls Patidar has struck 17 runs with a strike rate of 188.9. Most of the batters have always struggled against Sunil Narine even to save their wickets but the Indian batter has dominated the spinner. In the match between RCB and KKR this battle can be the game changer. Also Read | Rohit vs Dhoni: Who Leads Better in ICC Tournaments? Varun Chakravarthy vs Virat Kohli Image Source: BCCI Year Runs Balls Outs Dot 4s 6s SR Avg 2020 15 16 0 6 1 0 93.8 - 2021 5 8 1 3 0 0 62.5 5.0 2023 11 9 0 2 1 0 122.2 - 2024 9 6 0 2 0 1 150.0 - Total 40 39 1 13 2 1 102.6 40.0 Usually, Virat Kohli always struggles against spin bowlers but here in this battle he has the upper hand against KKR’s prime spinner Varun Chakravarthy. The mystery spinner so far has bowled 30 balls to Virat. In the 30 balls Varun has given 30 runs but he could only dismiss virat only once in the battle. As the new season unfolds with the match between RCB and KKR this battle will be exciting to watch. Andre Russell vs Yash Dayal Image Source: BCCI Year Runs Balls Outs Dots 4s 6s SR Avg 2022 26 9 0 2 1 3 288.9 - 2024 15 8 0 2 3 0 187.5 - Total 41 17 0 4 4 3 241.2 - This contest between Yash Dayal and Andre Russell will be a treat to see in the initial game of IPL 2025. So far, the KKR all-rounder has taken over in this battle. Russell has scored 41 runs off 17 deliveries without even being dismissed once. His strike rate of 241.2 itself indicates how destructive he is against the left-arm pacer. In these 17 balls, he has hit 4 fours and 3 sixes. Yash Dayal will find it difficult to stop Russell, but if he manages to find a way out, it can change the course of the game.