Kolkata, Mar 22 (UNI) Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) won the toss and elected to field against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the IPL 2025 Opener at the historic Eden Gardens here on Saturday.

RCB skipper Rajat Patidar justified the decision to bowl first, saying, "The pitch looks hard. It is amazing to lead RCB, and this is a great opportunity to learn from experienced players. We have done proper preparations for the last 10-15 days."

Patidar admitted some confusion regarding the impact player rule but reiterated that RCB would also field three pacers and two spinners.

KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane, expressing his pride in leading the team, said, "It's an honour to lead this team. Our preparation has been good, and the core group has remained the same. We are looking forward to batting well first and defending later. It's all about giving the players the freedom to play as a unit."

Providing details on the team combination, Rahane confirmed that they would be playing three fast bowlers and two spinners.

Ahead of the match, Spencer Johnson received his Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) cap from senior all-rounder Sunil Narine, marking his debut for the franchise.

Both teams named their impact substitutes for the match. Kolkata Knight Riders have listed Anrich Nortje, Manish Pandey, Vaibhav Arora, Anukul Roy, and Luvnith Sisodia. RCB’s impact substitutes include Devdutt Padikkal, Abhinandan Singh, Manoj Bhandage, Romario Shepherd, and Swapnil Singh.

Teams:

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (Playing XI): Virat Kohli, Philip Salt(w), Rajat Patidar(c), Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma, Tim David, Krunal Pandya, Rasikh Dar Salam, Suyash Sharma, Josh Hazlewood, Yash Dayal

Kolkata Knight Riders (Playing XI): Quinton de Kock(w), Venkatesh Iyer, Ajinkya Rahane(c), Rinku Singh, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Spencer Johnson, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy

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