The challenge of adverse weather condition looms over the opening Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) match of the Indian Premier League 2025.
The match which is scheduled to be played at Kolkata’s Eden Garden in West Bengal on March 22, Saturday, might be faced with rain.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an “orange alert” for parts of West Bengal. “Light to moderate rainfall with thunderstorm, lightning and gusty winds” likely over the Gangetic West Bengal on March 22, it said in its daily bulletin.
Kolkata weather forecast
The weather department’s forecast for Kolkata for the day said that thunderstorm along with rain is likely in the city, with the minimum temperature expected to settle at 22 degrees Celsius and maximum at 29 degrees Celsius.
On the eve of the match as well, i.e., on Friday, KKR and RCB had to end their practice sessions due to a steady drizzle in the region. Practice had begun at around 5 pm but, later the rain stepped in around 6 pm, prompting the ground staff into action while the cricketers wrapped up.
The match is scheduled to start at 7:30 pm, with the toss timed for 7 pm. Before the match, the opening ceremony of the IPL will also witness performances from Shreya Ghoshal, Karan Aujla and Disha Patani among others.
Reining champions KKR will enter the field under the captaincy of Ajinkya Rahane, while RCB will be led by Rajat Patidar.
KKR’s squad includes: Ajinkya Rahane (c), Rinku Singh, Quinton de Kock, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Venkatesh Iyer, Ramandeep Singh, Andre Russell, Anrich Nortje, Harshit Rana, Sunil Narine, Varun Chakaravarthy, Vaibhav Arora, Mayank Markande, Rovman Powell, Manish Pandey, Spencer Johnson, Luvnith Sisodia, Anukul Roy, Moeen Ali, Chetan Sakariya.
RCB’s squad includes: Rajat Patidar (c), Virat Kohli, Yash Dayal, Josh Hazlewood, Phil Salt, Jitesh Sharma, Liam Livingstone, Rasikh Dar, Suyash Sharma, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Swapnil Singh, Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Nuwan Thushara, Manoj Bhandage, Jacob Bethel, Devdutt Padikkal, Swastik Chhikara, Lungi Ngidi, Abhinandan Singh, Mohit Rathee.