Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) are an anomaly in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. They came to the home game against Punjab Kings with a lopsided record – four wins from four away matches and two defeats in two home matches. Rain, toss and the playing conditions – everything went against RCB on Friday and the losing streak at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium extended to three matches.
Let’s take a look at what happened in Bengaluru during RCB vs PBKS clash.
RCB – 95/9 | Tim David – 50 not out | Others – 44
After waiting for two hours due to rain, Punjab Kings opted to bowl first after winning the toss. Three RCB batters – Phil Salt, Rajat Patidar and Tim David – hit a four off the first ball they faced, yet only two batters reached double figures for the home side.
The highest partnership of 32 not out in the RCB innings came for the final wicket. Notably, five of RCB’s top six batters got out for less than five runs. The host batters couldn’t adjust to the bounce of the pitch, which was covered for longer period due to rain. The sluggish outfield made matters worse.
Virat Kohli didn’t face a single ball in the first two overs of the innings, and soon perished for just a run. Liam Livingstone got out to a wild shot for the third consecutive time. Tim David (50 not out off 26) smashed his maiden IPL fifty and gave some respectability to the RCB innings. The Australian finisher smashed hat-trick sixes off Harpreet Brar in the 20th over.
All-round Punjab Kings
Shreyas Iyer used five bowlers, and all of them took at least one wicket each. Arshdeep Singh dismissed the RCB openers – Salt and Kohli. Yuzvendra Chahal dismissed Rajat Patidar and Jitesh Sharma while Marco Jansen accounted for Krunal Pandya and impact substitute Manoj Bhandage.
Harpreet Brar took the wickets of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Yash Dayal as Punjab Kings restricted their opponents to 95/9. In reply, Punjab Kings openers Priyansh Arya (16) and Prabhsimran Singh (13) didn’t score much. But in the context of the game, their quick start eased out the nerves.
Josh Hazlewood (3/14) briefly threatened to deliver an unlikely RCB win, dismissing Shreyas Iyer and Josh Inglis in the same over. The Australian’s height allowed him to generate steep bounce from the pitch. Nehal Wadhera’s (33 not out off 19 balls) brave hitting took the visitors to a five-wicket victory with 11 balls to spare.
With this win, Punjab Kings rose from fourth to second spot in the points table. The Shreyas Iyer-led side are on level with Delhi capitals at 10 points. Delhi Capitals are on top owing to net-run rate.
What’s next for RCB & Punjab Kings?
Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Punjab Kings face each other again on Sunday (April 20) afternoon in New Chandigarh.
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