PBKS vs RCB, IPL 2025, Qualifier 1: Rajat Patidar Returns To Lead Bengaluru, Opts To Bowl First In Mullanpur; Josh Hazlewood Replaces Nuwan Thushara
Updates:
The toss in Mullanpur went the returning Rajat Patidar's way and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the Qualifier 1 against the Punjab Kings. Both sides made one change to the their playing XI, with RCB bringing in Josh Hazlewood for Nuwan Thushara. Tim David still remains on the sidelines due to the hamstring injury.
Punjab Kings had to make a forced change, drafting in Azmatullah Omarazi for Marco Jansen, while Yuzvendra Chahal is still nursing a finger injury.
Punjab Kings (Playing XI): Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh, Josh Inglis(w), Shreyas Iyer(c), Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Azmatullah Omarzai, Harpreet Brar, Arshdeep Singh, Kyle Jamieson.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (Playing XI): Virat Kohli, Philip Salt, Rajat Patidar(c), Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma(w), Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yash Dayal, Josh Hazlewood, Suyash Sharma.
Preview:
In what should be an evenly-matched contest between the two in-form sides in Qualifier 1 of IPL 2025, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Punjab Kings (PBKS) will lock horns in Mullanpur. Both sides are looking to seal their spots in the final and fans can expect the match to go down the wire in Mullanpur.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru seemed to have hit a blip after a 42-run defeat to the SunRisers Hyderabad in Lucknow, especially their bowling looking out of sorts. Although their bowling still conceded 227 against the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at the same venue, RCB reasserted themselves as the contenders for the title after powering through the target with six wickets to spare.
Punjab Kings, meanwhile, looked like a well-oiled machine heading to the Qualifier 1 against the Royal Challengers. Although Punjab will miss the services of Marco Jansen, who has returned home to prepare for the World Test Championship (WTC) final. While Shreyas Iyer is already an IPL winning captain, it remains to be seen if he can pull off yet another with a second franchise for consecutive years.
RCB vs PBKS IPL 2025 squads:
Punjab Kings squad: Shreyas Iyer (c), Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Shashank Singh, Prabhsimran Singh, Harpreet Brar, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Yash Thakur, Marco Jansen, Josh Inglis, Azmatullah Omarzai, Harnoor Pannu, Kuldeep Sen, Priyansh Arya, Aaron Hardie, Musheer Khan, Suryansh Shedge, Xavier Bartlett, Pyla Avinash, Pravin Dubey, Nehal Wadhera, Mitchell Owen, Kyle Jamieson.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru squad: Rajat Patidar (c), Virat Kohli, Yash Dayal, Josh Hazlewood, Phil Salt, Jitesh Sharma, Liam Livingstone, Rasikh Dar, Suyash Sharma, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Swapnil Singh, Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Nuwan Thushara, Manoj Bhandage, Jacob Bethel, Mayank Agarwal, Swastik Chhikara, Lungi Ngidi, Abhinandan Singh, Mohit Rathee
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