Kolkata Knight Riders batter Rinku Singh completed 50 matches for the franchise as he was named in the playing XI for the IPL 2025 match against Sunrisers Hyderabad at Eden Gardens on Thursday. Singh, who made his IPL debut in 2018, has become a key player for KKR over the years. The left-hander has scored 922 runs so far in his IPL career. One of his most memorable performances came in 2023 when he hit five consecutive sixes against Gujarat Titans pacer Yash Dayal to secure a dramatic win for KKR. To mark his 50th appearance, Singh was presented with a special jersey before the match.
In the 15th match of IPL 2025, Sunrisers Hyderabad skipper Pat Cummins won the toss and opted to bowl first against KKR. Sunrisers are aiming to avenge last season’s losses to Kolkata, as they failed to win any encounters against them in IPL 2024. Both teams have played three matches this season. KKR are at the bottom of the points table with two points, while SRH are in eighth place with the same number of points.
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Speaking after the toss, Cummins said, “We will bowl first. It looks like a good surface but I am terrible at reading pitches. They outplayed us in the final last year, but both teams have changed. Our batting has been at its best when we are aggressive, but we cannot be reckless.”
Sri Lankan batter Kamindu Mendis made his IPL debut in this match. KKR skipper Ajinkya Rahane confirmed that Moeen Ali returned to the side in place of Spencer Johnson. Rahane expressed confidence in home conditions and said, “The pitch looks good. We wanted to bowl first as well. This pitch will suit our spinners. At home, you should get what you want, but we need to assess the situation quickly. We had a bad game earlier, but it is a long tournament.”
Playing XIs:
Sunrisers Hyderabad: Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Aniket Verma, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Kamindu Mendis, Simarjeet Singh, Pat Cummins (c), Harshal Patel, Mohammed Shami, Zeeshan Ansari.
Kolkata Knight Riders: Quinton de Kock (wk), Sunil Narine, Ajinkya Rahane (c), Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Moeen Ali, Ramandeep Singh, Andre Russell, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy.
