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Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) are currently squaring off in the opening match of IPL 2025 tonight (March 22) at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. RCB skipper Rajat Patidar won the toss and opted to bowl first in the contest.
Josh Hazlewood provided an ideal start to the Royal Challengers by dismissing KKR opener Quinton de Kock (4) in the first over. In his debut match as KKR captain, Ajinkya Rahane (56) smashed a blazing half-century after coming in at No.3 position to set a great platform for his side following a loss of an early wicket.
Rahane and Sunil Narine (44) smashed the bowlers all around the park, putting on a 103-run partnership for the second wicket. However, both departed in quick succession during the halfway stage of the innings without converting their scores into bigger ones.
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Bengaluru bowlers made a comeback after this partnership and triggered a collapse to restrict KKR to 174/8 in 20 overs. Krunal Pandya stole the show for the Royal Challengers in the bowling department by picking up three wickets during his economical four-over spell.
Fans enjoyed the engaging action between bat and ball during the first innings of the first match of IPL 2025. They expressed their reactions by sharing hilarious memes on X (formerly known as Twitter).
One of the memes read:
"RCB bowlers under kohli's leadership."
Here are some of the best memes:
"RCB bowled pretty well in the second phase" - KKR batter Angkrish Raghuvanshi after 1st innings of opening match of IPL 2025
Speaking during the mid-innings break, Kolkata batter Angkrish Raghuvanshi revealed that the pitch was two-paced, and slower balls were hard to contend with. He also gave credit to the opposition team for bowling well in the second half of the innings.
Angkrish said (via Cricbuzz):
"RCB bowled pretty well in the second phase. Little two-paced and the slower ones made it difficult for us. Not so much for the spinners, but when the fast bowlers rolled their arms over, it was gripping. We have a really good bowling attack and we can pull it off."
At the time of the writing, the Royal Challengers Bengaluru reached 86/0 in seven overs with Virat Kohli and Phil Salt at the crease.
Get real-time updates on IPL 2025, including live scores, match schedules, points table & squad details for CSK, MI, RCB, KKR, SRH, LSG, DC, GT & PBKS
