Last Updated on 1 month by Charbel Coorey

Two of the more inconsistent teams go head-to-head in the 21st match of IPL 2025. Both Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) have won two and lost two, so it will be interesting to see how this match shapes up.

KKR have had a win-loss pattern in their first four games. After copping a thumping in Mumbai last week, they handed out their own thumping to Sunrisers Hyderabad a few days later. Their batters delivered, and they will need to be on their game against a team who bank more on their spinners.

LSG are also coming off a win. They prevailed against the Mumbai Indians on Friday, with Digvesh Rathi (1/21) producing a player of the match performance. Rathi will be key again on an Eden Gardens surface that could aid spin, as LSG hope for Ravi Bishnoi to find his best form.

On the batting front, it promises to be a fascinating battle between two powerful lineups. Eyes will be on Rishabh Pant with the LSG skipper managing just 19 runs off 32 balls so far this season, while KKR’s middle order will be keen to repeat their performance from SRH clash.

In this article, we will look at the possible playing XIIs, Eden Gardens Kolkata pitch report, fantasy cricket tips and Dream11 Prediction for the 21st match of IPL 2025.

IPL 2025 21st Match: KKR vs LSG Possible Playing XIIs

KKR and LSG could both stick with the same XIIs.

Kolkata Knight Riders: 1. Quinton de Kock (OS, wk), 2. Sunil Narine (OS), 3. Ajinkya Rahane (c), 4. Angkrish Raghuvanshi, 5. Venkatesh Iyer, 6. Rinku Singh, 7. Andre Russell (OS), 8. Moeen Ali (OS), 9. Ramandeep Singh, 10. Harshit Rana, 11. Varun Chakravarthy, 12. Vaibhav Arora

Lucknow Super Giants: 1. Mitchell Marsh (OS), 2. Aiden Markram (OS), 3. Nicholas Pooran (OS), 4. Rishabh Pant (c & wk), 5. Ayush Badoni, 6. David Miller (OS), 7. Abdul Samad, 8. Shardul Thakur, 9. Akash Deep, 10. Avesh Khan, 11. Digvesh Rathi, 12. Ravi Bishnoi

Eden Gardens Kolkata Pitch Report and Weather

The Kolkata surface aided spin in the KKR-SRH match. The SRH spinners took combined figures of 2/29 off four overs, while the KKR spinners took combined figures of 4/52 off eight overs.

In this afternoon game, expect the spinners to play a key role again. A hot day is forecast with a top of around 34 degrees and high humidity.

Fantasy Cricket Tips for KKR vs LSG: Top Picks/Key Players to Watch

Top wicket-keeper picks:

• Spin is expected to play a key role and there aren’t many better spin-hitters than Nicholas Pooran at the moment. Since the start of 2024, Pooran has hammered 262 runs against spin at an average of 131 and strike rate of 201.5 in the IPL.
• Quinton de Kock has been inconsistent, but still has good fantasy value as a keeper who opens the batting. His early battle with Shardul Thakur will be key, given Thakur has overall figures of 2/46 off 35 balls against him.

Key batter picks:

• Mitchell Marsh has scored three fifties in four matches this season at a strike rate of 185.85.
• Angkrish Raghuvanshi has looked in terrific form in IPL 2025. He struck a fifty on this ground in the last game, part of 128 runs at 42.66/147.12. He has made scores of 30, 22*, 26 and 50 so far.
• Ajinkya Rahane has a strike rate of 153.75 this season, with two 30+ scores in four games so far.

Top all-rounder picks:

• Sunil Narine has taken five wickets in five matches against LSG at an economy of 5.70. He has also smashed 131 runs at a strike rate of 198.48.
• Narine has scored 24 off 16 against Avesh Khan (no dismissal) and 15 off 10 against Shardul Thakur (no dismissal).

Key bowler picks:

• Varun Chakravarthy is a must-pick given his form and record at Eden Gardens. He has dismissed Rishabh Pant three times for 31 runs in 30 balls in the IPL.
• Vaibhav Arora won man of the match in the last game against SRH.

Other Players to Consider for your Fantasy Cricket Teams

• Venkatesh Iyer batted superbly in the last game against SRH (60 off 29 balls).
• LSG will surely look to bowl Avesh Khan early to Nicholas Pooran. The pacer has dismissed Pooran twice in 17 balls in the IPL, conceding just 14 in the process.
• Aiden Markram is coming off a half-century, although he was a little scratchy early. If he comes up against Varun Chakravarthy, it promises to be an interesting battle as he has scored 88 runs off just 51 balls against him in T20s, but has been dismissed four times.
• Moeen Ali can be a differential fantasy pick given LSG have a number of left-handers in their lineup.
• Digvesh Rathi can find some assistance on the Kolkata pitch. He has taken six wickets in four matches this season, only behind Shardul Thakur (7) for LSG.
• Andre Russell’s batting has been limited this season, and he has started bowling in the past two games with wickets to his name. Russell remains a decent Dream11 pick, but be mindful of c/vc.

Other Stats and Important Matchups

• Head-to-head: Matches 5, KKR 2, LSG 3.
• Sunil Narine vs Nicholas Pooran in all T20s: 150 balls, 171 runs, two wickets.
• Varun Chakravarthy vs Nicholas Pooran in the IPL: 42 balls, 68 runs, two wickets.
• Shardul Thakur vs Andre Russell in the IPL: 19 balls, 54 runs, three wickets.
• Venkatesh Iyer averages just 12.50 in three innings against LSG so far.

IPL 2025 21st Match: KKR vs LSG Dream11 Prediction

Note: The below teams are not based on the final playing XIs. We may not be able to update these in time. Use the stats and commentary in this article, as well as your own instincts, to create your teams.

Option 1:

Option 2:

IPL 2025 21st Match: KKR vs LSG Match Prediction – Who will win?

KKR to win.