Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will be desperate to turn their fortunes around at Eden Gardens when they face Rajasthan Royals (RR) in a crucial IPL clash on Sunday. With four league matches left, the equation for the defending champions is clear: win all four and qualify for the playoffs.
Skipper Ajinkya Rahane, recovering from a hand injury, confirmed his intent to play: “I’m fine. I’m trying my best and hopefully I’ll play the match on Sunday.”
Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!KKR have struggled at home this season, with just one win from five outings. Their spinners have failed to exploit home conditions, and the batting unit has underperformed. Vice-captain Venkatesh Iyer, re-signed for Rs 23.75 crore, has been underwhelming with only 142 runs in 10 games.
Who's that IPL player?Rinku Singh and Quinton de Kock have also failed to fire consistently, making KKR's task steeper. However, their recent 14-run win over Delhi Capitals, led by Sunil Narine’s all-round brilliance, has reignited belief.
Eliminated RR, meanwhile, have little to lose and could play party spoilers. With captain Sanju Samson absent and Jos Buttler gone, RR’s young guns will need to step up to salvage pride in what’s been a disappointing campaign.
Pitch report for KKR vs RRThere’s a lush covering of grass, especially around the good and short of a length areas, promising consistent bounce and pace at Eden Gardens. Early swing is expected in the powerplay, so pacers must pitch it up and make the most of the movement. Unlike typical Eden conditions, the even grass cover means spinners may find it tough, with little turn likely. This pitch looks set for a high-scoring contest, but the new ball will be crucial. Early wickets could tilt the game, so exploiting swing early on will be key for the bowlers before it becomes a batter’s paradise.
KKR vs RR Playing XI PredictionKolkata Knight Riders predicted XI: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Sunil Narine, Ajinkya Rahane (c), Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Andre Russell, Rovman Powell, Harshit Rana, Anukul Roy, Varun Chakaravarthy
Impact Player – Vaibhav Arora/Ramandeep Singh
Rajasthan Royals predicted XI: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Nitish Rana, Riyan Parag (c), Dhruv Jurel (wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Wanindu Hasaranga, Jofra Archer, Maheesh Theekshana, Sandeep Sharma, Yudhvir Singh Charak
Impact Player - Akash Madhwal/Shubham Dubey
KKR vs RR squads, IPL match TodayKolkata Knight Riders: Ajinkya Rahane (c), Rinku Singh, Quinton de Kock (wk), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Rovman Powell, Manish Pandey, Luvnith Sisodia, Venkatesh Iyer, Anukul Roy, Moeen Ali, Ramandeep Singh, Andre Russell, Anrich Nortje, Vaibhav Arora, Mayank Markande, Spencer Johnson, Harshit Rana, Sunil Narine, Varun Chakaravarthy and Chetan Sakariya.
Rajasthan Royals: Sanju Samson (c), Riyan Parag, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shimron Hetmyer, Shubham Dubey, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Kunal Singh Rathore, Yudhvir Singh Charak, Nitish Rana, Sandeep Sharma, Tushar Deshpande, Akash Madhwal, Kumar Kartikeya, Kwena Maphaka, Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Ashok Sharma and Jofra Archer.
KKR vs RR Head-to-Head RecordPlayed: 31
KKR wins: 15
RR wins: 14
No Result: 2
KKR vs RR IPL 2025, Kolkata weather predictionExpect a damp start to the day in Kolkata with a couple of soaking morning showers, particularly around 11 AM when cloudy skies and rain are likely. By match time at 3 PM, conditions should improve with intermittent cloud cover and a 20–25% chance of rain. The weather is expected to turn partly sunny between 4 and 5 PM, though rain chances remain around 20%. However, rain probability rises again to 42% by 7 PM. Temperatures will hover between 30°C and 31°C, with humidity expected to be high throughout the afternoon.