IPL 2025: LSG stand between RCB and a perfect away record

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

Injuries/availability concerns:

• LSG: No reported injuries in the squad.
• RCB: Devdutt Padikkal (hamstring injury) ruled out. Mayank Agarawal replaces him. Josh Hazlewood (shoulder niggle) and Phil Salt (fever) are doubtful.

Probable XIs:

• LSG: 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
• RCB: 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