Why Will KKR And CSK Be Massive Threats To RCB In Their First Two IPL 2025 Matches?

Why RCB's first two matches could define their season [Source: @iplt20.com]

The IPL 2025 fixtures are out and the buzz has already started for the upcoming cash-rich league which is set to begin on March 22. The first game of the tournament will take place between the defending champions, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the Eden Gardens.

Last season, RCB reached the playoffs, but Rajasthan Royals ended their dream run. However, this season, they have assembled a fresh squad, but their opening two fixtures will pose a different challenge for the Red Army. Their first two fixtures is against two title contenders and those matches could make or break RCB's IPL 2025 campaign. 

Here are the reasons why RCB's first two matches in upcoming season will be a tricky affair and could be a disasterclass for the team.

RCB's dismal record Vs both KKR and CSK

RCB's record Vs KKR

RCB's record Vs CSK

In the history of IPL, RCB's two worst head to head record is against KKR and CSK. In 34 matches between the two teams, KKR has won 20, while RCB has only tasted success in 14 matches.

For some reason, the Bengaluru based franchise has always struggled in Eden Gardens and even in the last season, KKR won both the encounters.

Similarly, Vs CSK, RCB has hardly tasted success. In 33 matches, CSK has won 21 matches, and RCB has won 11, while a solitary match ended in no result. When RCB will collide against the two sides, the opposition will have the psychological edge, which could disrupt the Rajat Patidar led side.

The spin conundrum RCB faces

RCB key players' strike-rate Vs spin

Almost all the RCB batters have a weakness against spin bowling and both KKR and CSK have a team filled in with plethora of spinners. While KKR has Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy, CSK has R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Noor Ahmad.

RCB's best player, Virat Kohli is a master against pacers, but has a tendency to struggle against the likes of Jadeja, and Narine. Similarly, their middle-order batters, Tim David and Liam Livingstone are explosive players against fast bowling, but fail to read the spin bowling. Livingstone has decent numbers against spin in IPL, but his recent struggles against Chakravarthy in the T20I series has made RCB management sweat on his spin game.

In BBL, we saw how good Tim David was against the pacers, but his overall IPL strike-rate of 128 is a cause of concern for the team.

Conclusion

The first two games could define RCB's season. If they sail through those matches, RCB's confidence will be on seventh heaven. However, if they lose against both CSK and KKR, their confidence will hit a new low and the season could turn out to be a disaster-class.

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