KKR vs CSK IPL 2025-Projected Playing 11 and Team News

The Kolkata Knight Riders are keeping their playoff hopes alive after a heart-stopping one-run victory over Rajasthan Royals in their latest game. KKR is currently placed sixth in the points table with five victories and five defeats. In order to qualify for the knockout round, they have to win all their remaining games. Under pressure, the team is positive and determined to keep their playoff hopes alive.

On the contrary, Chennai Super Kings are at the bottom of the table, having achieved just three wins from eleven games played thus far. With no hope remaining to qualify for the playoffs, CSK is now looking to finish the season on a positive note. They recently suffered a close loss to Royal Challengers Bengaluru by two runs. The squad will be hoping to stage an improved performance in their remaining matches.

The Kolkata Knight Riders camp is free from injury, which is a welcome development as they build up to the next encounter. Chennai Super Kings, on the other hand, have suffered a blow with Vansh Bedi being ruled out through injury. Urvil Patel has been drafted in as his replacement and has already joined the team. Bedi was likely to make a debut shortly, but because of the injury, Patel could be given a chance to play in the playing eleven without wasting much time.

Main players to watch out for are KKR's spinners Sunil Narine and Varun Chakaravarthy. Both bowlers have been giving trouble to CSK's middle-order batsmen consistently. Only Shivam Dube and Sam Curran among CSK players have been able to keep a reasonable strike rate against them. Dube has performed well against Chakaravarthy, whereas Curran has been reasonably successful against Narine. KKR skipper Ajinkya Rahane has also been batting well. He has been their top run-scorer in the season, though his performance varies according to the nature of bowling he gets. Against pace, Rahane averages 104.5 and strikes at 174.17, whereas against spin, his figures are 16.86 and 114.56 respectively. As CSK's spinners have picked up 28 wickets in the tournament so far, they could make use of spin in the initial stages to cash in on Rahane's weakness.

The expected playing eleven for Kolkata Knight Riders is Sunil Narine, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Rovman Powell, Anukul Roy, Harshit Rana, and Vaibhav Arora. Varun Chakaravarthy is likely to be the impact player.

For Chennai Super Kings, the likely XI includes Shaik Rasheed, Ayush Mhatre, Sam Curran, Ravindra Jadeja, Dewald Brevis, Shivam Dube, and Deepak Hooda or Urvil Patel. MS Dhoni will be the captain and wicket-keeper. Matheesha Pathirana, Noor Ahmad, and Khaleel Ahmed are expected to form the bowling unit. CSK will look to employ their spinners well against the powerful batting line-up of KKR.

The fans are eagerly awaiting this thrilling matchup between two teams with fortunes differing this season. KKR is struggling to remain in contention for the playoffs, whereas CSK wants to sign off on a high note. It would be intriguing to see how both teams adjust their tactics and whether Urvil Patel, the new inclusion of CSK, plays a decisive role in the match.