3 player battles to watch out for in KKR vs RCB, Match 1 of IPL 2025

Defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will play the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the IPL 2025 opener on Saturday, March 22, at Eden Gardens. Both teams will look to begin the tournament with a win and set the tone for the rest of the tournament.

KKR beat the SunRisers Hyderabad in the final to win the IPL title for the third time last year. However, a lot has changed since then. They have parted ways with skipper Shreyas Iyer, while mentor Gautam Gambhir stepped down from his role to take up a job with the Indian men's cricket team.

Despite the changes in the squad, the Knight Riders look well-settled to defend their crown. The addition of Quinton de Kock at the top will bolster KKR's squad.

RCB, on the other hand, made it to the playoffs last season but lost to the Rajasthan Royals in the Eliminator. Bengaluru, known as the perennial underachievers in the IPL, roped in several high-profile players at the mega auction and will come out firing on all cylinders.

With both teams boasting quality players, some interesting matchups could be seen on the opening night of the competition. On that note, let's look at three player battles to watch out for in Match 1 of IPL 2025.

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3 player battles to watch out for in KKR vs RCB, Match 1 of IPL 2025

#1 Virat Kohli vs Varun Chakravarthy

Both players were part of India's Champions Trophy 2025 squad that lifted the silverware earlier this month. While Virat Kohli played a key role with the bat, finishing as India's second-highest run-scorer (218) after Shreyas Iyer (243), Varun Chakravarthy was the highest wicket-taker for the Men in Blue with nine scalps.

Both cricketers have been in excellent form and will look to outsmart each other when their respective sides meet at Eden Gardens. Chakravarthy will most likely bowl in the powerplays, and with field restrictions on, he will have to be on his toes to get the better of a willy customer like Kohli.

They have met each other seven times in the past, with Kohli scoring 40 runs and Chakravarthy dismissing the senior batter only once.

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#2 Quinton de Kock vs Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Senior fast bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar will likely lead RCB's bowling and will be tasked with keeping Proteas wicketkeeper-batter Quinton de Kock in check.

The southpaw had an indifferent form coming to the IPL but has looked in good touch during the warm-up games. De Kock will be tasked to take on the bowling with the field restrictions on, and this is where he would go up against Bhuvneshwar.

The 35-year-old, who has 176 matches under his belt, is one of the greatest exponents of swing bowling with the new ball. Bhuvneshwar will be a tricky customer inside the powerplay, given that the wicket at Eden is known to assist pacers.

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#3 Harshit Rana vs Phil Salt

Harshit Rana and Phil Salt were part of the title-winning KKR setup last year, which makes this duel even more interesting. Both of them know each other's game inside out and will look to outsmart one another to put their respective teams on top.

Rana had a breakthrough campaign in IPL 2024, which paved the way for the Indian team. With international experience under his belt, the 23-year-old will be a difficult customer against any batter. His ability to vary the pace makes him even more impactful, both with the new ball and at the death.

Salt, meanwhile, established himself in India with a career-defining IPL 2024 campaign, scoring 435 runs in 12 games at a strike rate of 182. The English wicketkeeper-batter will look to continue his exploits in the IPL but will have to negate a tricky customer in Harshi Rana.