IPL Bulletin on March 23: From RCB Blowing Away KKR & Record-Breaking Kohli to Opening Ceremony Before CSK vs MI

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The eighteenth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) kicked off in style, starting with a blockbuster opening ceremony at the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata before the cricketing action got under way with a near run feast.

Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan headlined the grand opening ceremony before Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) opened their campaign with a statement win in front of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) home crowd.

While the opening contest lived up to the promise, there is more in store on double-header Sunday as Sunrisers Hyderabad host Rajasthan Royals before the El Clasico is set to witness another opening ceremony of it's own.

Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians had hilarious takes in pre-match press conferences, while the cloud around KKR's home fixture on Ramnavami still remains. Here is a look at the IPL Bulletin on March 23:

RCB blow away defending champions KKR in opener

Royal Challengers Bengaluru kicked off the new season with a statement 7-wicket win against the defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders. After Krunal Pandya's excellent showing with the ball, Phil Salt and Virat Kohli smashed fifties to make light work of the run chase.

In pursuit of 175, Salt (56 off 31 balls) and Kohli (59* off 36 balls) along with cameo from new captain Rajat Patidar (34 off 16 balls) ensured RCB reached the target with 22 balls to spare at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

Virat Kohli continues record-breaking spree

RCB stalwart Kohli extended his supremacy in the Indian Premier League by adding another feather to his cap during the IPL 2025 opener. Kohli became the first player to score 1000 plus runs against four teams and also became the third Indian to feature in 400 T20 matches.

Apart from that, Kohli also overtook Shikhar Dhawan to take the top spot in the list of highest run-scorers in successful run chases in IPL history with an unbeaten fifty at the Eden Gardens. He needed just 14 runs to take the top spot and he did so by scoring 59 in RCB's win.

KKR captain reveals turning point

KKR skipper Ajinkya Rahane revealed at what moment the match completely changed for his team against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). Rahane believes the spell after the 13th over when they lost 2 to 3 wickets in their batting innings at a crucial juncture cost them the match.

KKR were cruising at 107/1 at one stage, but found themselves reeling at 145/5 after Krunal Pandya struck in quick succession for RCB, and eventually proved the match winner in the curtain-raiser.

Krunal Pandya ready to bounce batters out

After coach Flower's "street smarts" and leader of spin pack comments, Pandya stepped up to prove the head coach right with a match-turning display with the ball for RCB in their campaign-opening win over KKR.

The 33-year-old caught the big fish, KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane before bouncing out Venkatesh Iyer and then adding a third wicket by cleaning up a dangerous Rinku Singh to finish with figures of 3/29 in his four overs.

CSK skipper's hilarious response to questions about Dhoni's potential retirement

CSK captain Ruturaj Gaikwad had a hilarious response for the media when asked about MS Dhoni's potential retirement. Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Gaikwad used Sachin Tendulkar batting well even at the age of 50 as a reference to add that MS Dhoni surely has more years of cricket left in him in the IPL.

Stand-in captain trusts Mumbai Indians depth

Mumbai Indians stand-in skipper Suryakumar Yadav backed the squad's depth to make up for Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah's absence in the clash of behemoths in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025.

Captain Hardik serves a one-match ban for slow over rate, while Bumrah is on the sidelines, recovering from a back injury he sustained in Australia during the fifth BGT Test in Sydney.

No decision made on moving KKR vs LSG match out of Kolkata

While reports suggested the game would be played in Guwahati, BCCI Vice President Rajiv Shukla has said that the board is yet to decide on moving the April 6 IPL match out of Kolkata. The Kolkata police has raised concerns about security to the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) as the game was on the same day as Ram Navmi.

Chepauk set to witness opening ceremony ahead of CSK vs MI

Music composer and singer Anirudh Ravichander is set to perform ahead of the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) vs Mumbai Indians (MI) match in Chennai's Chepauk stadium today.

The 34-year-old, a CSK and Dhoni fan, had teased about the performance with a cryptic post before the IPL official Instagram account confirmed the news later, saying the Tamil superstar will perform at 6:30 PM IST at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.