πππππ :Β Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Punjab Kings
ππππ : April 18, Friday
ππππ : 17:30 PM IST
πππππ :β M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru, India
ππππππππππ : Indian Premier League 2025
Punjab Kings’ test to end the Chinnaswamy jinx
- Royal Challengers Bengaluru have won the last three games against Punjab Kings
- Punjab Kings have won only once in this venue in the last seven games
- RCB’s openers Kohli and Salt have made close to 500 runs this season
Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Punjab Kings
TV channels: The fans can watch the match live on Hotstar
Live Streaming: Live streaming of the match will be available on the FAFA191 Cricket Exchange India and website.
RCB vs PBKS Match Prediction & Analysis
We are in the midseason of the Indian Premier League 2025 and teams are fighting hard to improve their position on the points table. We expect a cracker of a contest where hosts Royal Challengers Bengaluru face the Punjab Kings in the 34th game. Both teams have 8 points after six games. A win here will take them to the top of the points table. The Royal Challengers defeated the Rajasthan Royals in their last game and look confident. The Punjab Kings will look to build on their momentum after a win against the Kolkata Knight Riders.
The Royal Challengers Bengaluru have won the last three games against the Punjab Kings, which will make the team confident. They play at home and know the conditions well on this wicket. The Punjab Kings have a poor record at this venue, which can play on their minds. Their batsmen struggled in the last game. Whether the Kings can overcome the odds and do well in this contest remains to be seen.
TEAMS PREVIEW
Royal Challengers Bengaluru Preview
Rajat Patidar’s team has impressed everyone with its consistency and dominating performances this season. They defeated the Rajasthan Royals in the last game by 9 wickets. It was an excellent show from the batting lineup as they clinically chased down the big total. Punjab Kings have done well this year, and Patidar would like his team to play aggressively and use the home advantage to move to the top spot on the points table.
Phillip Salt is taking on the bowlers aggressively and will look to deliver a strong start in this game with Virat Kohli. Devdutt Padikkal will look to steer the innings in the middle order and add runs with Liam Livingstone and Jitesh Sharma. The side has depth in the batting lineup and expects runs from Tim David, Krunal Pandya, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar did well with the new ball in the last game and must get early breakthroughs with Yash Dayal. Krunal Pandya is troubling the batters, and he must keep up the pressure in the middle overs with Josh Hazlewood. The side expects good spells from Suyash Sharma and Liam Livingstone in the supporting role, as the Punjab Kings have good hitters.
Punjab Kings Preview
Shreyas Iyer will be proud of his bowlers and how they foxed the Kolkata Knight Riders in the last game. In a game where the batting lineup failed miserably, the bowling attack pulled a win out of thin air, winning the game by 16 runs. Iyer will expect a better show from his batsmen in this game. They have struggled against RCB, and Iyer would look to improve this record.
Priyansh Arya has been the leading batter for the team this season and must deliver a good start in this game with Prabhsimran Singh. Shreyas Iyer will look to anchor the innings and do well in the middle order with Josh Inglis and Nehal Wadhera. The team expects quick runs in the lower middle order from Glenn Maxwell, Suryansh Shedge, and Marco Jansen.
The bowling attack put up one of the best bowling performances in IPL history, and the team will be confident. Marco Jansen and Xavier Bartlett must get early breakthroughs to put the team in a strong position. Yuzvendra Chahal bowled a dream spell in the last game, and he will look to keep the scoring under check with Arshdeep Singh. Glenn Maxwell and Suryansh Shedge add balance to this attack.
Weather Conditions
We expect another warm evening in Bengaluru. The flat wicket is easy for the batsmen. There is very little assistance for the bowlers. The average first innings score at this venue is 173 runs. The side batting first would need a minimum of 200 runs to feel safe on this track.
A placid pitch, fast outfield, and shorter boundaries make M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru, one of the best T20 venues in the world. We have seen several high-scoring encounters at this venue, and batters find it easy to play on this surface where there is little support for the bowlers.
Toss: To Bowl
The side chasing the score has won four out of the last five games. The surface has been slower than usual, and setting up a total here isn’t easy, as we see big run chases at this venue. Both teams would take a cue from their previous wins and opt to bowl first.
