Who will win today’s IPL 2025 match?

The Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have completely different motivations ahead of their Indian Premier League (IPL) clash on Saturday, May 3. While RCB are on course for a top-two finish, CSK have already been eliminated from playoff contention and have only pride and the future to play for.

Bengaluru are currently placed third in the standings, and with at least two other teams fighting hard for two cracks at the final, they can’t afford any slip-ups against the bottom-placed team in the competition. Rajat Patidar and Co. thrashed the Men in Yellow at Chepauk in the reverse fixture, and a performance of similar effect could catapult them up the standings.

Meanwhile, Chennai have far more questions than answers. The toss hasn’t gone in their favor in recent times, but the reasons for their defeats are far more complicated than just luck. The Super Kings are playing an outdated brand of cricket, and despite their best efforts to bring in youngsters, the likes of Deepak Hooda are still part of their combination.

This encounter might not have its usual highly competitive nature, but plenty of interesting storylines will likely unfold at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. That is, of course, if the rain – which has been forecast for the entire evening and night in Bengaluru – stays away.

RCB’s squad for IPL 2025: Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Tim David, Manoj Bhandage, Devdutt Padikkal, Swastik Chikara, Phil Salt, Jitesh Sharma, Liam Livingstone, Krunal Pandya, Swapnil Singh, Romario Shepherd, Jacob Bethell, Mohit Rathee, Suyash Sharma, Abhinandan Singh, Josh Hazlewood, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yash Dayal, Rasikh Salam, Nuwan Thushara, Lungi Ngidi.

CSK’s squad for IPL 2025: Rahul Tripathi, Dewald Brevis, Shaik Rasheed, Deepak Hooda, Andre Siddarth, Devon Conway, MS Dhoni, Vansh Bedi, Ravindra Jadeja, Shivam Dube, R Ashwin, Sam Curran, Rachin Ravindra, Vijay Shankar, Anshul Kamboj, Jamie Overton, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Noor Ahmad, Shreyas Gopal, Matheesha Pathirana, Khaleel Ahmed, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Mukesh Choudhary, Ayush Mhatre, Nathan Ellis.

IPL 2025: Can RCB continue top-two push against struggling CSK?

RCB are unclear over the availability of Phil Salt, who reportedly didn’t train with the team ahead of the encounter. Jacob Bethell played a sparkling cameo on his IPL debut and should fancy taking on the CSK bowling attack in the powerplay, which is a phase they haven’t been able to dominate in recent matches.

Chennai are far too raw at the moment. A top three of Shaik Rasheed, Ayush Mhatre and Sam Curran doesn’t inspire much confidence despite their potential and recent form, and countering Krunal Pandya and Suyash Sharma will be anything but easy for the middle order.

More concerningly, CSK’s retained players have had seasons to forget. Ravindra Jadeja, Shivam Dube, MS Dhoni and Matheesha Pathirana haven’t done enough for the team since Ruturaj Gaikwad’s injury, and that doesn’t bode well for them ahead of a clash against an in-form RCB side.

The hosts’ form at the Chinnaswamy hasn’t been too convincing, and CSK can be a dangerous outfit when they don’t have the playoffs to play for. So while it would be silly to count them out, RCB can be expected to come away with the two points. A washout could be on the cards as well.

Prediction: RCB to win Match 52 of IPL 2025.