The stage is set for the opening game of the IPL (Indian Premier League) 2025. Kolkata Knight Riders will take on Royal Challengers Bengaluru in game 1 of the tournament at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on March 22. Notably, KKR will be coming into the season as the defending champions.
On the other hand, RCB are still in the search of their first title. It is interesting to note that both KKR and RCB have significant star power in their arsenal. Ahead of the game, former India cricketer Aakash Chopra took centre stage and talked about which players could go on to perform in the season opener.
Chopra went on to pick star KKR spinner Sunil Narine. The 36-year-old has been exceptional with both the bat and the ball for KKR over the years, and his knocks were crucial for the side as they won their third IPL title in 2024.
"Sunil Narine, the opener. He will bowl four good overs, but how it goes for him with the bat. If you try to find last year's one defining factor, as to how KKR turned everything around, it was Sunil Narine's performance. He scored a century with the bat and then an eighty as well," Chopra said in a video on his YouTube channel.
"Consistently he was batting outside the powerplay overs, which means he was batting deep into the T20 innings, and he was scoring a lot of runs. No one was able to figure out a way to stop him, and that changed everything. He allowed everyone to go helter-skelter. If you want to give Sunil Narine a long rope, he needs to score runs," Chopra added.
Furthermore, Chopra went on to point out the various make-or-break factors in the upcoming season opener of the tournament.
"What will be the make or break? Where will the match be won or lost? I think it all depends on how the RCB spinners bowl because that is their one weak area. So whether it's Krunal Pandya, Suyash Sharma, who used to be with KKR, Liam Livingstone or Jacob Bethell, how they bowl spin will hold the key not just for this game but going forward as well," Chopra said.