Preview: The Royals suffered a defeat in their opening match against last year’s runners-up, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), in an away fixture. On a batting paradise, a lacklustre fielding and bowling effort from the Riyan Parag-led side allowed the Sunrisers to amass 286/6 after being asked to bat first. Tushar Deshpande bagged three wickets for the Royals but conceded 44 runs in his four overs. In reply, the visitors put up a spirited fight, despite losing three wickets inside the powerplay. Sanju Samson and Dhruv Jurel struck enterprising half-centuries before late cameos from Shimron Hetmyer and Shubham Dubey helped the Royals finish on 242/6 in their 20 overs. Meanwhile, Kolkata Knight Riders hosted Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the first match of the season at Eden Gardens. After losing the toss, the Knights batted first and posted 174/8 in their 20 overs. Captain Ajinkya Rahane scored a fluent half-century, while Sunil Narine and Angkrish Raghuvanshi contributed useful knocks. However, Royal Challengers Bengaluru made light work of the target, chasing it down in 16.2 overs with seven wickets to spare. Sunil Narine was the only bowler to finish with economical figures, returning 1/27 in his four-over spell.
Indian Premier League 2025, 6th Match, RR vs KKR
Venue: Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati
Date & Time: Wednesday, March 26, 07:30 PM
Pitch Report: The Barsapara Cricket Stadium has hosted four matches in the IPL so far. Teams batting first have won two games, while only one match has been won by the chasing side. The highest total recorded at the venue is 199/4, scored by Rajasthan Royals against Delhi Capitals in 2023. The highest successful run chase stands at 145/5, achieved by Punjab Kings in 18.5 overs against RR. The average first-innings score in the IPL here is 180, while in T20Is, it is 192 across four matches.
PROBABLE PLAYING XI
Rajasthan Royals (RR)- Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson, Riyan Parag (C), Nitish Rana, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Shimron Hetmyer, Shubham Dubey, Jofra Archer, Maheesh Theekshana, Tushar Deshpande, Fazalhaq Farooqi.
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)- Sunil Narine, Quinton De Kock (WK), Ajinkya Rahane (C), Venkatesh Iyer, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Spencer Johnson, Varun Chakravarthy.
