Adverse weather conditions threaten to disrupt the opening match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 between Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), scheduled for Saturday, March 22, at Eden Gardens in Kolkata, West Bengal.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an “orange alert” for parts of West Bengal, predicting “light to moderate rainfall with thunderstorm, lightning and gusty winds” over Gangetic West Bengal on the day of the match.
The forecast for Kolkata specifically suggests thunderstorms and rain, with temperatures expected to range between 22 and 29 degrees Celsius.
On Friday, the eve of the match, KKR and RCB were forced to cut short their practice sessions due to a steady drizzle that began around 6 pm. The cricketers had started their training at 5 pm but wrapped up early as ground staff worked to cover the pitch.
The opening ceremony of the IPL is set to take place before the match, featuring performances by singers Shreya Ghoshal, Karan Aujla, and actor Disha Patani.
The match is scheduled to commence at 7:30 pm, with the toss taking place at 7 pm.
KKR will enter the season as reigning champions, led by captain Ajinkya Rahane, while RCB will be under the leadership of Rajat Patidar.
The KKR squad includes Ajinkya Rahane (c), Rinku Singh, Quinton de Kock, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Venkatesh Iyer, Ramandeep Singh, Andre Russell, Anrich Nortje, Harshit Rana, Sunil Narine, Varun Chakaravarthy, Vaibhav Arora, Mayank Markande, Rovman Powell, Manish Pandey, Spencer Johnson, Luvnith Sisodia, Anukul Roy, Moeen Ali, and Chetan Sakariya.
RCB’s squad consists of Rajat Patidar (c), Virat Kohli, Yash Dayal, Josh Hazlewood, Phil Salt, Jitesh Sharma, Liam Livingstone, Rasikh Dar, Suyash Sharma, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Swapnil Singh, Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Nuwan Thushara, Manoj Bhandage, Jacob Bethel, Devdutt Padikkal, Swastik Chhikara, Lungi Ngidi, Abhinandan Singh, and Mohit Rathee.
The IMD continues to monitor the situation, with further updates expected as the day progresses. Fans and organisers remain hopeful for a window of clear weather to allow the much-anticipated match and opening ceremony to proceed as planned.
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