Rajat Patidar's Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) will square off at the Ekana Stadium on Friday, May 9, in a match that is vital to both teams. LSG would be eliminated from the competition if they lost this game, which would put a lot of pressure on them to perform well. The RCB team, who are presently leading the IPL 2025 points standings, will be looking to win in order to guarantee their place in the playoffs.

Josh Hazlewood Set To Make Return

Josh Hazlewood, their top wicket-taker this season, is scheduled to return to the starting XI against LSG, giving the three-time finalists Royal Challengers Bengaluru a huge boost ahead of this important match. Due to reports of a shoulder injury, Hazlewood was conspicuously absent from their crucial match against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK). According to a Business Standard article, Hazlewood is expected to return for the match against the Lucknow Super Giants, even though the team administration has not given a precise recovery timeframe.

Josh Hazlewood, who has taken 18 wickets in 10 innings at an economy rate of 8.44, has been a vital member of the RCB this season. Therefore, in the forthcoming encounter against LSG, Lungi Ngidi, who replaced Hazlewood in the game against CSK and claimed three wickets, is probably going to make room for the Australian pacer's comeback.

The announcement that Devdutt Padikkal, Royal Challengers Bengaluru's star batsman, will miss the rest of the 2025 Indian Premier League season is a major blow to the team. The team has named Mayank Agarwal as Padikkal's substitute in the squad, since he would be out due to a right hamstring injury.

The RCB has paid INR 1 crore to acquire Mayank Agarwal. In terms of his contribution this season, Devdutt Padikkal has had an impressive run, amassing 247 runs, including two half-centuries. Padikkal played a number of crucial innings that helped the side win, and Virat Kohli even praised him for his contributions.

With five victories against six losses, LSG is in a perilous seventh place in the rankings, while RCB is only one victory away from securing their playoff berth.

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