IPL 2025: KKR and RCB to play tournament opener at Eden Gardens on March 22
Defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will face Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the IPL 2025 opening match at their home ground Eden Gardens on March 22.
India’s premier all-rounder Hardik Pandya believes he has regained his fan base through his performances, pointing at the key role he played in India’s T20 World Cup triumph in the Americas last year.
Pandya came up with an all-round display, amassing 144 runs and claiming 11 wickets in the tournament that proved instrumental as India secured their second T20 World Cup trophy.
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The Baroda all-rounder faced the wrath of fans in the Indian Premier League (IPL) last season when spectators consistently jeered him after he replaced Rohit Sharma as the Mumbai Indians’ skipper, following his transfer from Gujarat Titans before the 2024 season. Five-time champions Mumbai ended the 2024 IPL season at the last place under Pandya’s captaincy.
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However, he overcame the adverse reactions when he travelled with the Indian squad to the Americas for the T20 World Cup and delivered outstanding performances.
“They (fans) said life for me had come full circle. They said from here on there was no looking back. I had won them (fans) back,” said Pandya in a video posted by the BCCI on social media.
Now, chasing another global title at the Champions Trophy, Pandya expressed the team’s strong determination to claim a third win.
“A new year, a new tournament and a new challenge awaits us. Our quest to become champions once again has begun. Today, we step out yet again to start fresh, to conquer another day, to conquer another opponent. Chapter 2 in the Champions Trophy awaits. Get ready and fasten your seatbelts for a contest that needs no introduction,” he said.
In India’s first Champions Trophy match against Bangladesh, Pandya delivered an economical spell of four overs, conceding merely 20 runs. Against Pakistan in the ongoing match, Pandya gave India an early breakthrough with the scalp of Babar Azam, whose 26-ball 23 was laced with five hits to the fence.
At the end of 25 overs, Pakistan reached 99/2 with skipper Mohammad Rizwan and Saud Shakeel stabilising the ship after the loss of Babar and fellow opener Imam-ul-Haq.
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