Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s final practice session ahead of their IPL 2025 opener at Eden Gardens on Saturday was cut short by rain, throwing a spanner into their last-minute preparations.

The teams began their evening drills as scheduled at 5pm, but just an hour later, a steady drizzle turned into a persistent shower, forcing the players to abandon their nets and head indoors.

Ground staff rushed in with covers, ensuring the playing surface remained protected, but the practice session could not resume.

Eden Gardens, fortunately, is equipped with full ground covers, sparing the pitch from damage.

However, the early halt to training means both teams will head into the high-stakes clash with limited on-field adjustments.

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) had already issued an "orange alert" for Kolkata and several districts, predicting thundersqualls, gusty winds, lightning, hailstorms, and moderate rainfall on Friday and Saturday.

While the worst of the weather is expected in areas like Jhargram, Midnapore, Bankura, and Purulia, Kolkata is not entirely in the clear.

With a glittering opening ceremony featuring Shreya Ghoshal and Disha Patani scheduled for 6pm, all eyes will be on the skies to see if the weather allows the festivities to go ahead as planned.

The match is set to begin at 7.30pm, with the toss at 7pm.

As per IPL regulations, league-stage matches have a one-hour extension window, and the cut-off time for a five-over game is 10:56pm. Play must conclude by 12:06am.

KKR has already had a disrupted lead-up to the season, with an intra-squad practice match earlier in the week getting washed out after just one innings.

Now, with the final pre-match session also affected, both teams will have to trust their game plans rather than any last-minute fine-tuning.

With rain already playing spoilsport, will it have the final say on match day too?