IPL 2025, CSK vs RCB Live Score: RCB looking to end 17-year drought at Chepauk

IPL 2025, CSK vs RCB Live Score: Both sides started the season with comprehensive wins.

The last time RCB and CSK played each other was perhaps one of the most memorable games in the history of the IPL. With RCB trying to complete a miraculous comeback in the second half of the season, they had to beat CSK in the final match of their season, in what was a virtual pre-quarterfinal ahead of the playoffs. Not only that, they also had to catch up to the net run-rate, setting up a mouth-watering equation.

What the RCB team did that day went to show that this newest iteration of this team isn’t the same as that which has been seen in the past. It is a management and leadership group that is intent on winning and playing games on their own terms, becoming more combative and involved, rather than the sometimes-spectacular-sometimes-shocking pattern that had come to define them.

Riding that momentum and the memories of that night at home in Bengaluru, RCB will be seeking the sort of performance and result that will well and truly establish their credentials as competitors in this year’s tournament. They had a dominating win over KKR in the opening match of the tournament, as they clicked in all departments. Particularly in the batting, everyone showed an explosiveness that only comes when the batters are in form. If their top order can click the way they did in Kolkata, it sets them up beautifully, especially given the power that lies in their lower middle order.

CSK were equally dominant, python-like in their victory over Mumbai Indians. Over the years, CSK and MS Dhoni as a strategist have perfected the ability to squeeze the energy out of opposition batting, with economical bowling and regular wickets. On a surface this leadership group knows better than the back of their own hands, that spin troika of Jadeja-Ashwin-Noor will be crucial, especially to keep RCB’s explosive batting quiet. Add to this the sublime touch Ruturaj Gaikwad showed off in his fluent innings against MI, and they have the talismanic top order player that every team wants. Add to this the uber-talented Rachin Ravindra alongside him, and the ability to craft a batting team that has ability down to number nine, and it’s just a typically strong and competitive CSK team. Their identity is to make matches as uncomfortable and difficult to win for their opponents, and even this refreshed post-mega-auction team has that quality within it.

It’s a difficult match to call given how level these teams look on paper, but the home advantage CSK hold at Chepauk is something no other IPL team can boast of. They aren’t unbeatable at home, but playing a game of cricket as an opposition team in that sea of yellow is as intimidating a prospect as is present in this IPL. Their familiarity, and the ability to play two consecutive games at home, probably means they are the odds-on favourites to pull off the win on Friday evening. That being said, they do have the unenviable prospect of trying to contain a Virat Kohli who has very little left to accomplish in world cricket. Don’t forget, an IPL trophy is still one of them.