The 65th match of the Indian Premier League 2025 will witness Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) clash with Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Thursday, May 23, at the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow. With the ground changed from Chinnaswamy Stadium owing to the fear of rain in Bengaluru, both sides will now have to come to terms with new circumstances as they prepare for a vital match.
RCB Vs SRH: Pitch Report
The Ekana Cricket Stadium surface has traditionally been helpful to slower bowlers, with grip and turn provided, particularly as the match wears on. The pitch is usually drier in nature, which makes stroke-play slightly challenging for the batters initially. Due to the bigger boundaries of the stadium, it’s not easy to clear the ropes, which creates more pressure on the batters to rotate strike and construct their innings slowly. Although the pitch has a reputation for being on the slow side, good batting conditions are nevertheless present, provided the surface is appropriately prepared.
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Seamers will find themselves having early support off the deck with some bounce and swing, particularly under lights. Later in the evening, dew would be expected to come into play significantly, making the outfield quicker and the ball harder to hold for seamers and spinners.
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RCB Vs SRH: Toss Strategy
Considering the possibility of dew affecting the second half of the match, the winning captain of the toss will likely choose to bowl first. Second-innings batting might be facilitated by chasing in lights, as the wet ball skids on and is easier to bat on.
