IPL 2025 Opener: RCB Win Toss, Opt to Bowl Against KKR; Kohli Felicitated, Major Star Missing

In a star-studded opening ceremony at Eden Gardens, RCB’s Rajat Patidar wins the toss and elects to bowl; Bhuvneshwar Kumar missing from RCB XI, while Spencer Johnson debuts for KKR.

Kolkata, March 22 – The IPL 2025 season opener between Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) kicked off with a grand celebration at Eden Gardens, featuring Shah Rukh Khan, Shreya Ghoshal, and Disha Patani. The ceremony caused a slight delay in the toss, but fans were treated to on-stage dance moves by Virat Kohli and Rinku Singh, along with a special felicitation for Kohli, the only player to feature in all 18 IPL seasons with the same franchise.

Also Read: IPL 2025: Star-Studded Commentary Panel Announced With Kane Williamson, AB de Villiers, Shane Watson and More

🏏 Toss & Match Update:

• RCB won the toss and opted to bowl first.
• Rajat Patidar captains RCB in his debut match as skipper, while Ajinkya Rahane leads KKR.

🚨 Team News:

• RCB XI: Virat Kohli, Phil Salt (wk), Rajat Patidar (c), Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma, Tim David, Krunal Pandya, Rasikh Dar, Suyash Sharma, Josh Hazlewood, Yash Dayal
  🟥 Missing: Bhuvneshwar Kumar, a big-money buy, is not in the playing XI.
• KKR XI: Quinton de Kock (wk), Sunil Narine, Venkatesh Iyer, Ajinkya Rahane (c), Rinku Singh, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Spencer Johnson, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy
  🟩 Debut: Spencer Johnson receives his first KKR cap, chosen over Anrich Nortje.

Also Read: IPL 2025: Kane Williamson Backs Rachin Ravindra And Abhishek Sharma For Big Performances

🔄 Impact Player Watch:

KKR may bring in Anukul Roy or Vaibhav Arora later in the game as part of the impact player strategy.

☔ Weather Update:

Despite earlier fears due to an orange alert, the skies held up, and no rain is currently in the forecast for the match.

Also Read: Basit Ali Offers Technical Advice To Babar Azam; Predicts He Will Be the ‘Best Batter’ In PSL 2025

Tags:

IPL 2025, KKR vs RCB, RCB Playing XI, KKR Playing XI, Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Ajinkya Rahane, IPL toss result, Shah Rukh Khan IPL, Eden Gardens, Spencer Johnson debut, Bhuvneshwar Kumar missing, IPL 2025 opening ceremony