RCB will now play their last two league matches at the Ekana Cricket Stadium.
The IPL has shifted Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) final home game against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), slated to be held on May 23, from Bengaluru to Lucknow due to adverse weather conditions in South India.
Consequently, RCB will now play their last two league matches at the Ekana Cricket Stadium. After the SRH clash, the Bengaluru-based franchise will face Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on May 27.
RCB’s last match at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday (May 17) against defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) was abandoned due to rain, and there are high chances of rain in Bengaluru later this week as well.
The match against SRH is a big one for the Rajat Patidar-led side because if they manage to secure two points against the 2016 champions, then their chances of finishing in the top two and qualifying for the first qualifier will get a big boost.
According to IPL release, “The TATA IPL Match No. 65 between Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) has been relocated to the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow, due to unfavourable weather conditions in Bengaluru."
“Similar to the playoffs stage, an additional one hour will be allocated to the playing conditions for the remaining matches of the league stage, starting Tuesday, 20 May."
Meanwhile, Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur and Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad will host the four playoff matches of IPL 2025.
According to IPL release, the first qualifier and eliminator match will take place in Mullanpur on May 29 and 30, respectively, whereas the second qualifier and final will be played in Ahmedabad on June 1 and 3, respectively.
“Hyderabad and Kolkata were initially supposed to host the last four games before the one week suspension of the tournament. The new venues for the Playoffs were decided by the IPL Governing Council keeping in mind the weather conditions and other parameters."
The race for playoffs is heating up as three teams - Punjab Kings (PBKS), Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), and Gujarat Titans (GT) have already confirmed their qualification. Delhi Capitals and Mumbai Indians are in a neck-and-neck battle for the fourth and final spot for the knockout stages.