A resurgent Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will look to continue its winning momentum and close its home run with another victory over bottom-placed Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 at the Eden Gardens on Wednesday.
Ajinkya Rahane’s exemplary leadership during the team’s low phase led the defending champion to resilient wins over Delhi Capitals and Rajasthan Royals and helped it stay in the Playoffs race.
KKR will be confident after recording two 200-plus totals. Andre Russell and Rinku Singh’s blitzkrieg against the Royals has empowered it. Top-scorer Rahane and young Angkrish Raghuvanshi’s consistency has stood out.
However, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Venkatesh Iyer and Ramandeep Singh will seek improvement.
Bowlers, including reliable hands Varun Chakaravarthy, Sunil Narine, Harshit Rana and Vaibhav Arora, have served KKR well.
CSK will be interested in stopping its four-match losing streak by exacting revenge.
The side has struggled for runs. It’s reflected in the fact that only Ravindra Jadeja and Shivam Dube have scored in excess of 200. The emergence of Ayush Mhatre, who narrowly missed a century against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, is a positive story. Sam Curran and Dewald Brevis can be dangerous too.
Noor Ahmad and pacers Khaleel Ahmed and Matheesha Pathirana have shouldered the maximum load of CSK’s bowling.
KKR may feel like a visitor at its own home ground, with its fan base likely to support CSK due to the presence of M.S. Dhoni, who might take the field for one last time at the Eden.
Another high-scoring cliff-hanger, following KKR’s one-run win over RR, will be a special treat.