IPL 2025 PBKS vs RCB Qualifier 1: The thrill of IPL season 18 has now reached its last stop i.e. playoffs. Now from today, playoffs are being started from Punjab and Bengaluru from qualifier-1. Bengaluru captain Rajat Patidar has won the toss and decided to bowl first.
Let us know that this match will be played at Maharaja Yadwinder Singh International Stadium Mullangpur of Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) from 7:30 pm today. Prior to the match, the stadium’s pitch reports, Punjab vs. Bangalore’s head-to-head figures and all the necessary updates take a look.
Both teams will be eyeing the finals in the finals
Both PBKs and RCB teams will be eyeing the match and making it to the finals. Punjab played its last final in 2014, RCB played in 2016, but could not win the title. Now the team that will win this match today will reach the final. The losing team will face the winner of the eliminator in the qualifier-2. The eliminator match will take place on 30 May between the teams of Gujarat Titans and Mumbai Indians. There is tremendous enthusiasm among the fans regarding these matches.
Performing PBKS and RCB in IPL 2025
Punjab Kings won 9 matches out of 14 matches in the 14 matches in the IPL 2025 with 19 points in the points table, while the RCB team also won 9 out of 14 matches and made it second with 19 points. Punjab’s team is ranked first with a better net run rate (+0.372), while RCB has a net run rate (0.301). In his last league match, RCB defeated Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) by 6 wickets to secure his place in the top two, in which Jitesh Sharma played a brilliant innings of 85 runs. At the same time, Punjab Kings defeated Mumbai Indians by 7 wickets and topped the league stage.
Punjab batsmen are in great form
Punjab Kings have entered the IPL playoffs for the first time since 2014 and the team is playing in a completely new style under the captaincy of Shreyas Iyer this time. In the opening, Prabhasimran Singh and Priyansh Arya are in great form and are constantly giving the team a good start. At the same time, Josh England and captain Iyer have also batted tremendously in the middle order. Especially Iglis played an important role in winning the team by performing well in the last match.
However, bowling for Punjab still remains a matter of concern. After South African fast bowler Marco Yansen’s home returns to home, the team will feel clear in the powerplay and death overs. Yansen’s role was very important. Kyle Jameson has definitely given some good indications in her first match, but she will have to perform continuously effectively. At the same time, Afghan all -rounder Ajmatullah Omrajai can also be tried in place of Yansen. Arshdeep Singh is in the rhythm and the return of Yuzvendra Chahal in the playoffs can strengthen the spin department.
Hazelwood fit, Kohli will be eyeing
Talking about Royal Challengers Bangalore, everyone’s eyes will be on Virat Kohli. Kohli is in top form by scoring more than 600 runs in this season and he will be expected to expect another big innings in this important match. If he goes, the dream of getting RCB the title for the first time can be fulfilled.
The good news for RCB is that fast bowler Josh Hazlewood is fit and can return to this match. It is a matter of relief for the team to return Jitesh Sharma in the middle order. He played the best innings of IPL career in the last match. Tim David is also available for selection by fit, which will help RCB to take up a balanced team.
It is also worth noting that in the league stage, RCB defeated Punjab on this ground, which has increased their confidence. However, the playoff pressure is different and both teams are ready to give their best to reach the finals.
Punjab has played 4 matches in playoffs
Overall, Punjab has played four matches in the playoffs. Out of this, the team could win only one match and faced defeat in three. Punjab has played qualifier-1 only once and holds a record of 100 percent defeat. In 2014, under the captaincy of George Bailey, the Punjab team collided with Kolkata Knight Riders in qualifier-1, but lost. After this, the Punjab team reached the final after winning the qualifier-2, but they had to face it there too. Apart from 2014, in the team 2008, the team was played by the team eliminator (then two semi -finals and the semi -finals have been called Eliminator Match) by Chennai Super Kings defeated Punjab by nine wickets.
Bengaluru has played 15 matches in the playoffs
Bengaluru has played 15 matches in the playoffs so far, which is very few for the team that has reached the playoffs 10 times. This is because the team could not cross the knockout matches on most occasions. Out of these 15, the team has lost in 10 matches, while in five they have won. The team has played a twice qualifier-1 match in 2011 and 2016. He was defeated by Chennai Super Kings in 2011. After this, RCB defeated Mumbai Indians in qualifier-2 and made it to the finals. Then in the final, CSK once again defeated RCB. At the same time, in 2016, RCB defeated Gujarat Lions by four wickets. However, in the final, the team had to face defeat against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Who is heavy in Punjab vs Bangalore Head to Head?
Talk about IPL history, so far there have been 35 matches between the two teams, in which Punjab Kings have won 18 times and Bengaluru has won 17 times. That is, the match has always been equal.
Pitch report of Maharaja Yadavindra Singh Stadium
This qualifier-1 match between Punjab and Bengaluru will be played at Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Chandigarh. This stadium is the home ground of PBKs. In this version, this ground has also hosted for 4 domestic matches of PBKS with a qualifier-1 and eliminator match. Let’s look at the pitch report and other major figures of this stadium.
Let us know that the pitch of Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium has been traditionally prepared from sand instead of soil. This helps fast bowlers compared to spinners here. This pitch has equal opportunities for batsmen and bowlers. However, there are an eye on the batsmen to score runs. On this ground, 9 matches have been played in the IPL so far and the score of 200 has crossed 3 times.
IPL data at Maharaja Yadavindra Singh Stadium
Maharaja Yadavindra Singh Stadium has so far hosted 9 matches of IPL. Of these, 5 matches have won the first batting team, while the batting team later won 4 matches. One match was canceled. Here the record of the highest score is recorded for PBKS (219/6 vs CSK, 2025). The minimum score record is the name of KKR (95 vs. Pbks, 2025). The average score of the first innings on this ground has been 180 runs.
Punjab and Bengaluru perform at Maharaja Yadavindra Singh Stadium
PBKS has played a total of 9 matches at Maharaja Yadavindra Singh Stadium, out of which he lost 3 matches and lost 6 matches. The best score of Pbks on this ground has been 219 runs. Priyansh Arya has scored a century on this ground from PBKS. He scored 104 runs against CSK. RCB has played only 1 match on this ground. He won by 7 wickets in that match.
If the match was canceled due to rain, who will go to the final?
Significantly, there is no reserve day for the qualifier-1 match between Punjab and Bengaluru and if the match was washed in the rain, it can benefit Punjab Kings. In fact, the Punjab team stood first in the group stage and if the rain disrupted the match and the match was canceled, it would qualify for the finals due to being at the top and Bengaluru would have to win a qualifier-2 match to reach the title match.
Punjab and Bengaluru playing 11
Punjab Kings (PBKS)
Priyansh Arya, Prabhasimran Singh, Josh England (wicketkeeper), Shreyas Iyer (Captain), Nehal Vadhera, Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Ajmatullah Umarjai, Harpreet Brar, Arshdeep Singh, Kyle Jayamison
Impact Player – Vijaykumar Vaisya, Praveen Dubey, Suryansh Shedge, Mushir Khan, Javier Bartlett.
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB)
Virat Kohli, Philip Salt, Rajat Patidar (Captain), Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma (wicketkeeper), Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yash Dayal, Josh Hazelwood, Suyash Sharma
Impact Player – Mayank Agarwal, Rasikh Salaam, Manoj Bhandage, Tim Cifrt, Swapnil Singh.
Where to see the match live?
This qualifier-1 match of IPL 2025 played between Punjab Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore, you can watch online through the JioCinema app on your smartphone. At the same time, the match will also be broadcast live on the channels of Star Sports on television. You can also see and read all the live updates and news related to the match on lalluram.com.
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