Cricket
RCB vs PBKS, IPL 2025: Rajat Patidar's Royal Challengers Bengaluru face Shreyas Iyer's Punjab Kings at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Friday evening.
Updated : Apr 19, 2025, 12:16 AM IST
RCB vs PBKS, Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025: The Royal Challengers Bangalore are set to strive for their first home victory of the season as they prepare to take on the Punjab Kings at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Friday evening.
Despite facing each other twice in three days due to the unusual scheduling, the threat of rain clouds in Bengaluru looms over this crucial match for both teams. A win is essential for maintaining momentum and securing a spot in the top four of the standings. Both teams have won three of their last five games, with two losses in between. RCB recently secured a comfortable away win against the Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur, while Punjab achieved a remarkable victory by defending a 110-run target against the Kolkata Knight Riders in Mullanpur, marking the lowest successful defence in IPL history.
RCB is eager to kickstart their home campaign, especially as the competition intensifies with each passing game. A lackluster performance at home would not bode well for Rajat Patidar and his team in the long run this season.
Punjab is struggling to score boundaries, but they are still keeping the asking rate under control. Shreyas was dismissed by a catch from Jitesh after scoring seven runs off 10 balls. Nehal Wadhera is now at the crease and has scored a single. Inglis was also caught after attempting an upper cut shot and is out.
Prabhsimran Singh comes in as a substitute for Yuzvendra Chahal and opens the batting with Priyansh Arya. Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowls the first over. Priyansh starts with a single, while Prabhsimran also scores a single but gets hit on the helmet while trying a ramp shot.
Brar bowls the final over, with David initially struggling to score runs. However, David manages to hit three sixes and a four off the fourth, fifth, and sixth deliveries, including a free hit for a no ball. Ultimately, only 2 runs are scored off the last ball.
Punjab Kings (Playing XI): Priyansh Arya, Nehal Wadhera, Shreyas Iyer(c), Shashank Singh, Josh Inglis(w), Marcus Stoinis, Marco Jansen, Harpreet Brar, Xavier Bartlett, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (Playing XI): Philip Salt, Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar(c), Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma(w), Tim David, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Suyash Sharma, Yash Dayal
Shreyas Iyer: We will bowl first. It's a good ground to chase and it'[s a rain interrupted game, overs have been reduced, will have a fair idea of how the wickert will play and that was always the pln. Stoinis comes in for Maxwell and Harpreet Brar is in. We need to have the right players at the right place, especially the angles.
Rajat Patidar: We have to be smart in adapting to the conditions, we'll try our best. A bit sticky, but the surface looks hard, we will put up a good total on the board. Same team, but I'm confused with the impact player
The batting powerplay will consist of 4 overs. Three bowlers are allowed to bowl a maximum of 4 overs each, while one bowler can bowl the remaining 2 overs.
The scheduled play time is from 9:45 to 10:45 hours, with a change of innings taking place from 10:45 to 10:55. The second innings will then commence from 10:55 to 11:55.
The match is expected to happen but with reduced overs due to rain. BCCI officials are waiting by the boundary without umbrellas or jackets because the drizzle is very light. The covers can't be removed until the rain completely stops. The match could start as late as 10.54 pm for a 5-over-a-side game.
Yuzvendra Chahal is not only the leading wicket-taker in the IPL but also a master at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. He has a record of taking the most T20 wickets at this venue, especially against right-handers. With RCB facing KKR in the upcoming game, Chahal is expected to continue his dominance and spin a web around the opposition batsmen.
Maxwell has struggled at the start of the season but playing against a former team in familiar surroundings could help him get back on track. However, he will face Krunal Pandya, who has dismissed him five times in the IPL and has been successful in keeping other top batsmen quiet in the past.
RCB: Phil Salt, Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar (c), Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Tim David, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Yash Dayal, Suyash Sharma
PBKS: Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh, Shreyas Iyer (c), Nehal Wadhera, Josh Inglis (wk)/Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell, Shashank Singh, Marco Jansen, Xavier Bartlett, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Vijaykumar Vyshak/Yash Thakur
Punjab Kings Squad: Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh(w), Shreyas Iyer(c), Nehal Wadhera, Josh Inglis, Shashank Singh, Glenn Maxwell, Marco Jansen, Xavier Bartlett, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Suryansh Shedge, Yash Thakur, Harpreet Brar, Praveen Dubey, Pyla Avinash, Musheer Khan, Harnoor Singh, Kuldeep Sen, Azmatullah Omarzai, Aaron Hardie, Vishnu Vinod, Marcus Stoinis
Royal Challengers Bengaluru Squad: Philip Salt, Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar(c), Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma(w), Tim David, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Suyash Sharma, Yash Dayal, Devdutt Padikkal, Rasikh Dar Salam, Manoj Bhandage, Jacob Bethell, Swapnil Singh, Abhinandan Singh, Swastik Chikara, Mohit Rathee, Nuwan Thushara, Romario Shepherd, Lungi Ngidi