11:51 AM Match Preview The 18th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will start with a blockbuster match between defending champion and three-time title winner Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), who are yet to lift an IPL title. The match will be hosted by Eden Gardens, Kolkata, KKR's home stadium. These two teams have played each other 34 times in the IPL. KKR has won 20 times, while RCB has emerged victorious on 14 occasions. RCB last beat KKR in IPL 2022. KKR has since then won four consecutive matches against them in the next two seasons. KKR has been expecting to extend their winning streak in front of their home crowd. Kolkata Knight Riders KKR was the top team last season and made their way to the final of the IPL. In the final, they dominated Sunrisers Hyderabad convincingly to lift their third IPL championship. But their skipper Shreyas Iyer has departed and Ajinkya Rahane has been appointed the new captain for IPL 2025. Other than Iyer, the majority of KKR's major players are present in the team. Their spinners, Sunil Narine and Varun Chakaravarthy, will be vital, particularly on a pitch that should favor batters to score huge runs. Narine has also emerged as an explosive batter and will be an important player for KKR. The new additions in the name of Quinton de Kock and Anrich Nortje are expected to play a crucial role in KKR's campaign this season. Royal Challengers Bengaluru RCB will be looking forward to some good fortune in IPL 2025 for their marquee player, Virat Kohli. He has been the image of RCB since day one and will have to lead from the front in this game. His probable opening batting partner is Englishman and ex-KKR player Phil Salt. As Salt has previously played for KKR, his past experience at this venue might be beneficial for RCB. RCB has kept left-arm pacer Yash Dayal and strengthened their bowling attack with Josh Hazlewood, Lungi Ngidi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and spinner Suyash Sharma, who previously played for KKR. They will be looking for their bowlers to fire in this big-scoring game. 11:44 AM What to expect The KKR vs RCB game will be played at Eden Gardens, where many high-scoring matches took place last year. The batters enjoyed their time at Eden Gardens, as Punjab Kings were able to chase 262 against KKR, and RCB was just a run short while chasing 222. The wicket tends to favor batters all the time, so another high-scoring game looks on the card. Since second-batting teams have performed better at this ground, both captains will surely want to bowl first if they win the toss. The first-innings average at Eden Gardens is 162.78, but current trends indicate that teams will have to score well in excess of 200 to feel secure. Supporters can look forward to a fun game with many boundaries and sixes. 11:35 AM Key Stats & Facts Eden Gardens IPL Matches: 93 (3rd Most after Wankhede & Chinnaswamy) Most Wickets at Eden Gardens: Sunil Narine - 70 wickets KKR vs RCB at Eden Gardens: KKR leads 8-4 in head-to-head record Virat Kohli's Milestone Watch: Needs 38 runs to reach 1000 vs KKR in IPL Read More for KKR vs RCB Stats & Milestones! 11:27 AM Team Updates Kolkata Knight Riders Kolkata Knight Riders suffered a blow with fast bowler Umran Malik injuring himself. Famed for his speed, regularly reaching 150 km/h, Umran is out of the season. Indian pacer Chetan Sakariya has been added to the squad as his replacement. Anrich Nortje, who was missing from the ICC Champions Trophy after suffering a back injury, is part of the KKR squad now and likely to feature in the first match. Probable XI: Quinton de Kock/Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Sunil Narine, Ajinkya Rahane (c), Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Anukul Roy, Harshit Rana, Anrich Nortje and Varun Chakravarthy (Impact Subs: Angkrish Raghuvanshi/Vaibhav Arora) Royal Challengers Bengaluru Royal Challengers Bengaluru will start their season with a complete squad, with England stars Phil Salt, Liam Livingstone, and Jacob Bethell. There was worry about Josh Hazlewood missing the first few games through injury, but he has now joined the team, indicating that he will be ready for the first game. Probable XI: Virat Kohli, Phil Salt, Rajat Patidar (c), Krunal Pandya, Liam Livingstone, Tim David, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Suyash Sharma, Josh Hazlewood, Yash Dayal. (Impact Subs: Rasikh Dar, Swapnil Singh) 11:22 AM Squads of both the teams Kolkata Knight Riders Ajinkya Rahane (c), Quinton de Kock, Manish Pandey, Rovman Powell, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ramandeep Singh, Rinku Singh, Luvnith Sisodia, Venkatesh Iyer, Moeen Ali, Sunil Narine, Anukul Roy, Andre Russell, Vaibhav Arora, Harshit Rana, Spencer Johnson, Mayank Markande, Anrich Nortje, Chetan Sakariya, Varun Chakaravarthy Royal Challengers Bengaluru Rajat Patidar (c), Virat Kohli, Tim David, Swastik Chikara, Devdutt Padikkal, Phil Salt, Jitesh Sharma, Jacob Bethell, Manoj Bhandage, Liam Livingstone, Mohit Rathee, Krunal Pandya, Romario Shepherd, Abhinandan Singh, Josh Hazlewood, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Lungi Ngidi, Rasikh Salam, Suyash Sharma, Swapnil Singh, Nuwan Thushara, Yash Dayal