Since reaching the finals of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2016, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) have never placed in the top two. A victory over the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on Tuesday, May 27, at the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow, will guarantee them a spot in Qualifier 1, giving them a fantastic chance to break the curse.

Dinesh Karthik, RCB’s batting coach and mentor, emphasised the significance of placing in the top two.

The former batsman and wicketkeeper for India claimed that the team captained by Rajat Patidar has had distinct objectives at various stages of the current IPL 2025 season. They only set a goal to place in the top two a few games ago, though.

It is very vital to place in the top two. We are making a lot of effort to achieve that as it is all we have desired. We had clear objectives at various points in time, but somewhere, a few games ago, we made the decision to attempt to place in the top two, and we’ve been doing everything we can to do that,” Karthik stated prior to the match against LSG.

For RCB to finish in the top two, they must win their match against LSG.

Notably, with 17 points from 13 games, RCB is presently ranked third in the IPL 2025 points standings. But a victory would put them ahead of the Gujarat Titans, who have 18 points after playing all 14 of their games. With 19 points after 14 games, Punjab Kings are at the top of the standings. They have secured a spot in Qualifier 1, which is scheduled on Thursday, May 29 at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur. If RCB loses on Tuesday, they will advance to the Eliminator, where the Mumbai Indians will be waiting.

In the most recent match, the Bengaluru-based team lost to Sunrisers Hyderabad by 42 runs in a high-scoring match in Lucknow. On Tuesday, Patidar and company would like to recover and put on a fantastic display against an unreliable LSG team.