IPL 2025: All eyes on Virat Kohli ahead of clash against Kolkata Knight Riders

There is a certain poignancy to IPL 2025 resuming after a 10-day break at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, the home of Royal Challengers Bengaluru, but equally importantly, the home for the last 18 seasons of inarguably the greatest Indian batter of his generation. 

Earlier in the week, Virat Kohli called time on his Test career. It’s in the fitness of things that he will be at the forefront when the enforced Phase II of the IPL resumes on Saturday, weather permitting, when his team lock horns with defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders, for whom each of their two remaining games is a must-win.

Hosts in second place

RCB are sitting pretty at second in the points table, with eight wins from 11 outings and primed to finish in the Top-2. They will look at the mid-tournament break with mixed feelings; sitting on a four-match winning run, they might worry at a potential loss of momentum, though they will take heart from the intermission giving captain Rajat Patidar enough time to recover from the finger injury sustained in their last outing, a stirring victory at the same venue on May 3 against Chennai Super Kings. 

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RCB have managed to secure the services for the league phase of all their overseas stars barring Josh Hazlewood, still to recover from the shoulder injury that kept him out of the CSK win. While that will delight their fans, they will primarily turn out on the morrow — braving the forecast for rain that has dogged the Garden City without fail for several evenings in a row — to cheer and celebrate their favourite son, who has won everything there is to win except an IPL title. 

Kohli has been the driving force of this year’s wonderful campaign with 505 runs, comfortably the most by a batter from his team and just five behind current Orange Cap holder Suryakumar Yadav. As he winds down his professional career, a shot at IPL glory will be foremost on his priority list. Motivation has never been a factor with Kohli, but he will feel the need to weigh in with the runs that the injured Devdutt Padikkal — replaced by fellow home boy Mayank Agarwal in the squad — might otherwise have contributed. 

Holders KKR have had an underwhelming run, failing to piece together the string of victories that turbo-charged their run to the title last year. Apart from skipper Ajinkya Rahane and the supremely talented Angkrish Raghuvanshi, they have struggled for batting consistency, one of the main reasons why they lost more matches (six) than they have won (five). With 11 points and two games remaining, they know their future isn’t in their own hands any longer, but all they can do is keep up their end of the bargain and hope for the best.

Can Russell rock for KKR?

Apart from Moeen Ali and Rovman Powell, they have their full complement of overseas stars to choose from, of whom Andre Russell has shown ominous touch of late and will fancy the small boundaries at the Chinnaswamy. But like the other 23 players who will take the field, he will also well know that he will be only the sideshow, no matter what he does. After all, how can anyone compete with the Kohli mania at the Chinnaswamy?

07
No. of half-centuries Virat Kohli has notchd up in the ongoing IPL. He has scored 505 runs in 11 games

This article first appeared on Mid Day