Defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders will take the field on Wednesday for another attempt to keep alive their hopes of making it to the playoffs in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 when they take on an out-of-contention Chennai Super Kings at the Eden Gardens.
The stakes will be vastly different for Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings, but the focus will remain on one man: Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
While CSK are out of playoff contention, this could be Dhoni’s final appearance at iconic Eden Gardens where his cricket journey took significant shape. Though the former captain is renowned as Captain Cool for his unflappable attitude to external pressure, emotions are expected to run high as Eden Gardens gets drenched in yellow and Dhoni fever, possibly for the last time.
Though their opponents are at the bottom of the points table, KKR head coach Chandrakant Pandit said it will not be an easy clash.
In T20 games, I always believe that no team can be taken easily and nobody can be above the game. Obviously, our confidence level, we need to continue with that, instead of thinking of our opposition's confidence level.
For KKR, this is a must-win clash. With 11 points from as many matches, they need to win all their remaining games — including tough away encounters against SRH and RCB — to get to 17 points and keep their playoff hopes alive.
Their thrilling one-run win over Rajasthan Royals in the previous game has injected some momentum, thanks largely to Andre Russell’s blazing return to form. With Venkatesh Iyer under scrutiny after a big-money auction price, KKR will hope he can rise to the occasion on a surface likely to favour spinners.
The Eden Gardens pitch, on the drier side this season, has rewarded both spin and pace-on-older-ball strategies. Expect Ravindra Jadeja and R Ashwin to play key roles for CSK as they aim to dent KKR’s playoff hopes while playing for pride.
Dhoni, who shouldered responsibility for CSK's narrow two-run defeat to RCB in the last match, might not be the force of old, but his presence continues to galvanise fans. The 43-year-old could be playing his final match at Eden, a venue where he notched his maiden first-class century and two of his six Test tons.
While CSK have endured a forgettable season, one bright spark has been 17-year-old Ayush Mhatre. A last-minute replacement for injured skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad, the teenager has made heads turn with a fearless 94 against RCB and an earlier cameo versus Mumbai Indians. Alongside players like Shivam Dube and Sam Curran, Mhatre represents CSK’s transitional future.
The clash, thus, is more than a playoff push or a dead rubber — it’s a possible swansong for a legend, a must-win battle for the home side, and a moment that might just etch itself into Eden Gardens folklore.
In their last five matches, KKR have won three and lost two, while CSK have slumped to four defeats and one win. Overall, CSK have dominated their head-to-head series with 19 wins in 31 matches. KKR have won 11 matches while one game has ended in a no result.
Probable playing XIs: Kolkata Knight Riders: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Sunil Narine, Ajinkya Rahane (capt), Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakravarthy, Vaibhav Arora
Chennai Super Kings: Ayush Mhatre, Urvil Patel, Sam Curran, Dewald Brevis, Ravindra Jadeja, Shivam Dube, MS Dhoni (capt & wk), Khaleel Ahmed, Noor Ahmed, Anshul Kamboj, Matheesha Pathirana
