Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), captained by Ajinkya Rahane, and Rajasthan Royals (RR), led by Riyan Parag, will meet in IPL 2025 match 53 at Eden Gardens, Kolkata, on May 3, 2025, in what promises to be an exciting matchup. The match will start at 3:30 PM IST and will be of great importance and significance to the playoff aspirations of the KKR team.

Eden Gardens Stats and Records

• Total Matches: 97
• Batting 1st Won: 40
• Batting 2nd Won: 56
• No Result: 1
• Highest Total: 262/2 by Punjab Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders in 2024
• Lowest Total: 49 all out by Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Kolkata Knight Riders in 2017
• Highest Run-chase: 262/2 in 18.4 overs by Punjab Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders in 2024
• Lowest Total Defended: 131 All Out by Kolkata Knight Riders vs Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2017
• Average 1st Innings Score: 166
• Average 2nd Innings Score: 153

Also Read: IPL 2025: KKR vs RR Match 53 - A Head to Head breakdown

KKR vs RR: Weather and pitch report

The weather on May 3, 2025, in Kolkata is expected to be warm, with temperatures between 26–30 °C (79–86 °F) and high humidity levels at 70–80%, so the fans and players may be pretty sweaty and uncomfortable! Rain looks unlikely in the evening, which will be great for an uninterrupted match. The pitch at Eden Gardens looks to be shortsighted in favor of batsmen, with a flat surface that lends itself to big totals, and as the game progresses, spinners will likely get some turn; if dew becomes a factor in the second innings for batting, the chasing team may have an upper hand!

KKR vs PBKS: Match Preview

Kolkata Knight Riders come into this match with a solid win over the Rajasthan Royals earlier this season with an eight-wicket victory in which Quinton de Kock ascended for 97 off 61 balls. KKR's batting lineup has relied quite a bit on de Kock, Narine, and Venkatesh Iyer, with some support from Rinku Singh and Andre Russell as an added bonus with the middle-order batting. KKR's bowlers, including Varun Chakaravathy and Harshit Rana, maintained the same disciplined approach, and I expect spin to be a factor at Eden Gardens that favors the likes of Narine and Chakaravarthy. The Royals, led by Riyan Parag, have been inconsistent, and their vulnerabilities in the middle order were exposed in the last match against KKR, which is a problem for batters like Jaiswal, Jurel, and Hetmyer. Hasaranga and Sandeep Sharma pose a threat with the spin, but the Royals' fast bowlers - Archer, Krishna, and Farooqi—have to improve the economy rate; therefore, I expect improvements. The wasted ingredient in using pace in the powerplay overs was costly, and if I knew liability on pace and continued with that, I could expect trouble for KKR on that element with the aggressive top-order batting. I think spin will have some impact, but pace will need to be operational.