3 player battles to watch out for in LSG vs RCB, Match 70 of IPL 2025 ft. Virat Kohli
The Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) will host the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the 70th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 on Tuesday, May 27. The contest will be hosted by the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow.
LSG lost four games in a row before winning their previous outing and will be looking to end their campaign on a high. Lucknow currently sit seventh in the standings with 12 points, including six wins and seven defeats.
RCB, on the other hand, will look to strengthen their chances of making it to the top two with a win tonight. They occupy the third position in the table with 17 points from 13 games, including eight wins and four defeats.
With two sides coming into the game vying for a win, a cracking contest beckons fans in Lucknow. Ahead of the match, we take a look at three exciting player battles to watch out for.
#1 Virat Kohli vs Digvesh Rathi
The former RCB skipper has been in scintillating form in IPL 2025. He is currently in the sixth position in the highest scorers list with 548 runs in 12 matches at an average of 60.89, including seven half-centuries, the most this season so far.
Virat Kohli will again look to dictate terms in the powerplay and set the tone for the batters to follow. However, LSG's Digvesh Rathi might challenge the ace batter, like he did when the two sides faced earlier this season. He is the leading wicket-taker for LSG this season, having picked 14 scalps in 12 games.
Rathi will be pumped up while bowling against Kohli, hoping to dismiss him again this season, which will make the duel worth watching.
#2 Nicholas Pooran vs Suyash Sharma
The LSG wicketkeeper-batter made a thunderous start to the IPL 2025, tearing into bowling attacks for fun. However, Nicholas Pooran has witnessed a dip in form, going for low scores in his last five outings.
The West Indian will look to hit the strides against RCB and regain his momentum. Pooran will bat in the middle phase of the game, where he is mostly expected to face leg spinner Suyash Sharma. The young spinner has looked good in this year's cash-rich league, bowling the difficult overs for his side.
Pooran will look to take Suyash on, while the bowler will look to outsmart the batter with his sharp googlies. The southpaw has scored 15 off five balls against Suyash in T20s at a strike rate of 220.
#3 Ayush Badoni vs Krunal Pandya
Ayush Badoni is the fourth leading run-getter for LSG with 329 runs from 11 innings of 13 matches. While overseas batters have largely dominated the team's batting order, Badoni has stood up to the occasion whenever presented with a chance.
RCB will look to introduce left-arm spinner Krunal Pandya in the middle overs to remove the threat from Badoni soon. The two were formerly teammates when Pandya represented LSG, and know their weaknesses well, which would come in handy.