The spotlight will be on Virat Kohli and Rajat Patidar when Royal Challengers Bengaluru take on Kolkata Knight Riders at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru as the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 resumes after a 10-day hiatus because of the violent conflict between India and Pakistan.
Since the league was suspended a day after the clash between Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals in Dharamsala was called off amidst blackouts and air raid sirens in the neighbouring state, Kohli has detonated the biggest bomb in Indian cricket.
His retirement from Test cricket was abrupt and has left many fans stunned. With his mind free from the pressure of playing Test cricket, Virat will be hoping to continue his superb batting form that has fetched him 505 runs in 11 matches.
The spotlight will also be on RCB skipper Patidar, who had suffered a finger injury against Chennai Super Kings (CSK), and was seen batting fluently in the nets — a reassuring sign for the thinktank.
Before the break, RCB had surged to second in the standings with 16 points from 11 matches, riding on a four-match winning streak. A victory on Saturday could all but seal their place in the playoffs, and they appear well-equipped to resume from where they left off.
The return of foreign stars such as Phil Salt, Tim David, Liam Livingstone, Romario Shepherd, and Lungi Ngidi has come as a massive boost. However, the absence of Devdutt Padikkal due to an injury will be a big setback. Mayank Agarwal, who has been roped in as his replacement, will have a big role to play at the top.
Rajat's going well. He had an injury to his hand, but he's been building up ever so slowly. For him personally, probably the disruption gave him a few more days just to get through some of that early healing, and for the swelling to go down, and for him to get used to picking up a bat again. He's practiced the last few days, and he's going well.
The other major issue for RCB is the injury of Australian pacer Josh Hazlewood, who is still in his home country, undergoing rehabilitation under Cricket Australia.
With Josh, he's our only player not here at the moment. He's recovering from his shoulder niggle that he had. He's doing that with Cricket Australia. Our medical team and their medical teams have been liaising on what that detail looks like, and he's just taking that day by day, and he's trying to improve his shot.
Kolkata Knight Riders, too, will be struggling to make up for the absence of a couple of key players -- Moeen Ali, ruled out due to viral fever, and Rovman Powell. The defending champions are in a must-win situation in their remaining matches in the league.
KKR currently sit sixth on the points table with 11 points from 12 matches. A loss on Saturday could effectively end their hopes of a playoff berth.
They have suffered with patchy form — two wins in three games — and concerns remain around whether they can rediscover the intensity needed for this crunch clash. Batting has been their Achilles' heel this season. While Ajinkya Rahane and youngster Angkrish Raghuvanshi have shown some fight, others like Rinku Singh, Venkatesh Iyer, and Andre Russell have struggled for consistency.
Their bowling, though, has offered some hope. The likes of Varun Chakravarthy, Sunil Narine, Vaibhav Arora, and Harshit Rana have kept the side competitive, even if runs have occasionally leaked.
However, whether this bowling group can tame an RCB batting line-up that boasts Kohli, Salt, Livingstone, and David remains to be seen.
KKR get into this match with two wins, two defeats, and one no result. RCB, on the other hand, have four wins and one loss in their last five matches. In 35 matches overall between the two sides, KKR have an edge with 20 wins while RCB have 15 wins.
Probable playing XIs: Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Phil Salt, Virat Kohli, Mayank Agarwal, Rajat Patidar (capt), Jitesh Sharma (wk), Romario Shepherd, Tim David, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yash Dayal, Lungi Ngidi
Kolkata Knight Riders: Sunil Narine, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ajinkya Rahane (capt), Venkatesh Iyer, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Anrich Nortje, Vaibhav Arora, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakravarthy.
