Kolkata, March 22: The highly anticipated season opener of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 between Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) can be marred by weather as the 'City of Joy' has witnessed a fair bit of overnight rain.

Though the sun made a brief appearance around midday, raising hopes for an uninterrupted match, the forecast in Kolkata remains uncertain, with overcast conditions expected for most of the day and intermittent showers predicted, including during match hours, according to ESPNcricinfo.

On Friday, the Indian Meteorological Department issued an "orange alert" for Gangetic West Bengal, signalling the likelihood of continued rain in the region. Kolkata has experienced persistent, though not particularly heavy, rainfall in the days leading up to the season opener.

The weather has already disrupted preparations, with rain cutting short both teams' training sessions on Friday. Earlier in the week, a KKR intra-squad practice match was washed out after just one innings, while light rain also affected training sessions on Wednesday and Thursday.

The much-anticipated clash at Eden Gardens is scheduled for a 7:00 PM toss, followed by a 7:30 PM start. The IPL's league stage rules allow for a one-hour extension, meaning at least a five-overs-a-side match must be completed by midnight. If the game is abandoned due to rain, both teams will share one point each.

Following this fixture, defending champions KKR will travel to Guwahati to face Rajasthan Royals (RR) on March 26, while RCB will head to Chennai for a showdown against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on March 28.

Adding to the excitement, an opening ceremony is planned before the toss, setting the stage for what promises to be another thrilling IPL season.

KKR's opening match against RCB has revived memories of the inaugural IPL game in 2008 when Brendon McCullum played a historic knock of 158 runs for KKR against the same opponent.

Both teams enter the season with a change in leadership. Ajinkya Rahane has taken over as KKR's captain, while Rajat Patidar leads RCB. RCB is eager to break its four-match losing streak against KKR.Spin bowling is expected to be a key factor in the game. KKR boasts an experienced spin attack featuring Varun Chakravarthy and Sunil Narine, supported by Moeen Ali and Anukul Roy.

On the other hand, RCB's spin department is led by Krunal Pandya, with assistance from Swapnil Singh, Liam Livingstone, Jacob Bethell, and young spinner Suyash Sharma, who previously played for KKR in 2023.The batting line-ups of both teams also promise an exciting contest. RCB's explosive batting unit includes Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Liam Livingstone, Phil Salt, and Jitesh Sharma.

Meanwhile, KKR's batting order features Quinton de Kock, Rinku Singh, Ajinkya Rahane, and Venkatesh Iyer.

KKR Squad: Ajinkya Rahane (c), Venkatesh Iyer (vc), Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Varun Chakravarthy, Harshit Rana, Ramandeep Singh, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Quinton de Kock (wk), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Mayank Markande, Anrich Nortje, Vaibhav Arora, Manish Pandey, Luvnith Sisodia (wk), Anukul Roy, Rovman Powell, Moeen Ali, Chetan Sakariya, Spencer Johnson.

RCB Squad: Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar (c), Swastik Chikara, Devdutt Padikkal, Jitesh Sharma, Philip Salt, Manoj Bhandage, Tim David, Krunal Pandya, Liam Livingstone, Romario Shepherd, Jacob Bethell, Swapnil Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Nuwan Thushara, Lungi Ngidi, Yash Dayal, Rasikh Dar Salam, Suyash Sharma, Mohit Rathee, Abhinandan Singh. (ANI)

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