3 things KKR need to do right to beat RCB in IPL 2025 match in Bengaluru ft. Anukul Roy 

The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 will resume with a potentially riveting clash between the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and the Kolkata Knight Riders (KR) at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday, May 17. There is a fair bit of distance between the two sides in the points table, which is why Ajinkya Rahane and co. will have to be at the top of their game to hamper RCB's cruising progress.

KKR have enjoyed a dominant run at the Chinnaswamy, recording no losses at the venue since 2015. But, RCB are finally gathering some momentum at their home on the back of two successive wins right before the tournament was suspended.

It is to be noted that KKR will be without their overseas all-rounders Moeen Ali and Rovman Powell for the remainder of the campaign.

On that note, let us take a look at three things KKR need to do right to beat RCB in the IPL 2025 match in Bengaluru.

#1 Spin in the powerplay

This particular plan was torn to shreds the last time these two sides met as Phil Salt smashed Varun Chakaravarthy for 21 runs in the fourth over. But, in principle, the strategy still holds a lot of value. KKR have the room to play a third spinner in Anukul Roy, and he bowled well in the win over Delhi Capitals (DC) while opening the bowling in the powerplay phase.

The left-arm spinner could perhaps emulate his exploits, and help KKR contain the explosive opening pair of Phil Salt and Virat Kohli, who love pace on the ball initially.

Interestingly, Roy had bowled a couple of overs in the powerplay in this fixture last year at the Chinnaswamy. He conceded only six runs off his two overs as he trapped the pair of Virat Kohli and Cameron Green during the fielding restrictions.

With this approach, KKR do not have to risk exposing Narine and Chakaravarthy early on, and they can continue to operate in their preferred middle overs phase.

#2 Emphasis on Venkatesh Iyer's entry point rather than batting position

In IPL 2025, Venkatesh Iyer has batted at the same position in back-to-back matches only once. Although flexible and dynamic batting orders are not uncommon in this day and age, the least that the struggling left-handed batter could use at this stage is some consistency in terms of his place in the order.

Iyer was touted to play a crucial role in taking down Krunal Pandya and Suyash Sharma in the season opener, but was castled for just six runs on that occasion.

However, all is still not lost, as he has the potential to take down the left-arm spinner and the wrist spinner to help KKR's cause. The last time KKR played at the Chinnaswamy, Iyer came out right after the powerplay, and his early assault against RCB's lone spinner, Mayank Dagar, kept him out of the attack entirely after that.

KKR, with their middle-order pairing of Rahane and Raghuvanshi, could easily be pinned down by the RCB spin duo, even though they are excellent players of spin. The value of having a left-handed batter at one end would put just a little bit of added pressure on the spinners in the middle overs.

#3 With not much to lose, KKR can make a left-field pick in Spencer Johnson

The loss to the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at the Eden Gardens pushes KKR to the edge of elimination in the IPL 2025 playoffs race. The defending champions have not been able to replicate their dominance from the previous campaign and have been an inconsistent bunch at best.

KKR need to win both of their remaining matches to take their tally to 15 points, and then wait for a miracle. Since they need an overwhelming number of matches to go in their favor, they are more or less down and out at this stage.

Under such circumstances, the Men in Purple have the room to make some bold calls, and go all or nothing. One such potential decision they can make regarding the team selection is Spencer Johnson's selection. The Australian pacer has been dismal in the few matches he has played so far this season, with just one wicket in four matches at an average of 133, and an economy rate of 11.74.

However, his tall frame and the ability to extract bounce may come in handy at the Chinnaswamy. He can bowl across all phases of the innings, and his left-arm angle could prove to be useful against Phil Salt. The England opener has been dismissed by left-arm pacers four times in his last four innings, with the likes of Sam Curran, Arshdeep Singh, and Trent Boult all managing to get the better of him.

Even across his last four ODI appearances, left-arm pacers have dismissed Salt thrice. The Englishman had come up against Johnson in the 2025 Champions Trophy in Lahore, where he had won the short-lived battle.