What happened the last time KKR played RCB at the Eden Gardens before IPL 2025?

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) are all set to host Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the opening match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. The match will be played on Saturday, March 22, at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

Fans witnessed a high-scoring thrilling contest the last time these two sides faced off at the iconic Eden Gardens. In what was the 36th match of the 2024 edition of the tournament, RCB won the toss and elected to field first.

KKR’s start to the innings was fiery as opening batter Phil Salt put on a show, taking the RCB bowlers to the cleaners and hitting them all around the stadium. Sunil Narine played the second fiddle as the former wreaked havoc.

RCB finally found the breakthrough moment as Mohammed Siraj and Yash Dayal struck in consecutive overs in the powerplay to send the openers back to the hut. Dayal made it two in an over as he also dismissed Angkrish Raghuvanshi in the final over of the powerplay.

A captain’s knock from Shreyas Iyer (50 off 36) and contributions from middle-order batters Venkatesh Iyer, Andre Russell, Rinku Singh, and Ramandeep Singh helped the home team get past the 200-run mark and put up 222/6 on the scoreboard.

KKR bowlers shone as RCB lost by the barest of margins

Coming to the chase, RCB openers Virat Kohli (18 off 7) and Faf du Plessis (7 off 7) were dismissed cheaply in the third and fourth overs, respectively, thanks to Harshit Rana and Varun Chakaravarthy.

It was then the crucial 102-run partnership between Will Jacks and Rajat Patidar that steered the visiting side’s ship. Caribbean all-rounder Andre Russell stood up to the occasion as he dismissed the two power-hitters in a span of four deliveries in the 12th over.

The middle-order batters scored a decent amount of runs to get their team closer to the target. The game went down the wire as RCB needed just three runs off the last two deliveries, but KKR ran out Karn Sharma and Lockie Ferguson to clinch a thrilling one-run victory.