IPL 2025
Mayank Yadav had a dream outing against RCB last time around. © Getty
Royal Challengers Bengaluru need one more win to seal their playoff spot, and it’ll be quite poetic if it comes in Lucknow. Not just because it’s a city that lives by the motto of making visitors smile, but also because RCB’s success this season has largely been built away from home, with six wins out of six. A seventh will complete their perfect run on the road and deliver them into knockouts in their first season under a new captain.
For Lucknow Super Giants, the equation isn’t so simple. Currently on 10 points in 11 games, with three more to play, they are in must-win territory, given 14 points won’t be enough to get teams through this season. Even if LSG win all their matches, they would need to depend on other results to go their way. It’s hardly a consolation that two of their remaining three games are at home, where they’ve struggled to adapt, as three losses in five matches would suggest.
While RCB finally seem to have found the middle order and bowling to win matches as a unit, LSG appear to have lost their core strengths from last season and are coming off three back-to-back defeats. Their fast bowling, in particular, which won them games single-handedly last year, has been found wanting. The injury-hit pace unit, which began the season as the least experienced, has seen reinforcements along the way, but after 58 matches, they remain the most expensive fast-bowling attack (ER 10.64) with the second-worst average (38.03). That, combined with Rishabh Pant’s poor form, makes this feel like low-hanging fruit for an in-form RCB.
Still, a win would keep the hosts alive in the tournament and you never know how things might unfold in a tight league finish. RCB, though, have their sights set much higher.
When: LSG v RCB, Match 59, IPL 2025, on 9 May, 07:30 PM LOCAL
Where: Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow
What to expect: A lot depends on whether it’s a black or a red soil pitch but what’s given are the long boundaries, meaning spinners will have something to play with. Four of the five matches have been won by the chasing sides, so expect the captain winning the toss to bowl first.
Head to head: RCB 3-2 LSG
Team Watch
Lucknow Super Giants
Injuries/availability concerns: No reported injuries in the squad.
Tactics and matchups:Can LSG find a way to use Mayank Yadav as a first or second-change change bowler? It was a role he took to rather well last season but this year, he’s been expensive in his two outings as a new-ball bowler, returning 2-100 in his eight overs so far.
Probable XII:Mitchell Marsh, Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran, Rishabh Pant(w/c), Abdul Samad, Ayush Badoni, David Miller, Akash Maharaj Singh/Ravi Bishnoi, Digvesh Singh Rathi, Avesh Khan, Mayank Yadav, Prince Yadav
Royal Challengers Bengaluru
Injuries/availability concerns:Devdutt Padikkal, a “key part of the top order” in Mo Bobat’s words, has been ruled out with a hamstring injury. He has been replaced by Mayank Agarawal, who should slot right in given his experience. It remains to be seen if Josh Hazlewood (who missed the CSK fixture in Bengaluru with a shoulder niggle) and Phil Salt (who missed the last two fixtures with fever) are available for this match, which is after a five-day break.
Tactics and matchups: Patidar started the season with two fifties in his first three matches but his red-hot form has since cooled down. In his last four matches, Patidar has totalled only 30 runs. While it’s far from being a concern, he will likely take confidence from playing against LSG, the team he scored a 49-ball hundred in the Eliminator in 2022.
Probable XII:Jacob Bethell, Virat Kohli, Mayank Agarawal, Rajat Patidar(c), Jitesh Sharma(w), Tim David, Krunal Pandya, Romario Shepherd, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Lungi Ngidi/Josh Hazlewood, Yash Dayal, Suyash Sharma
Did you know?
– Of the 72 players to have faced at least 60 balls in IPL 2025, Rishabh Pant has the lowest strike-rate and the lowest average.
– When these two teams met last year in Bengaluru, Mayank Yadav picked 3/14 and bowled the fastest ball of the season at 156.7 kmph.
What they said:
“I haven’t made any changes to my bowling. I’ve had a major injury, I’ve been out of the game for 5-6 months. So, it’s normal, the body will adapt and it’ll take it’s own time. So I feel, I should give my body some time for that speed to come back.” – Mayank Yadav
“My process is that I can control my nerves in the pre-match [routines].I don’t try to think about the things that are not in my control. After what happened to me in 2023 [five sixes], I try to focus on the process and not on the batters. I try to focus on the execution. I have practised a lot. Now it looks like the results are coming through” – Yash Dayal.
© Cricbuzz
