RCB vs PBKS: RCB into the finals since 2016, following a dominating 10-wicket victory over Punjab Kings (PBKS) in Qualifier 1 of IPL 2025. With the support of top-class bowling by Josh Hazlewood, Suyash Sharma, and Yash Dayal, and a fiery half-century by Phil Salt, RCB vs PBKS was one-sided as Bengaluru walked into the showdown in style.
Ruthless Bowling Display: PBKS Collapse for 101
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The New Chandigarh pitch provided additional bounce and seam movement, and RCB bowlers capitalized on that. Punjab Kings, having a strong, aggressive nature, refused to change their game according to the difficult conditions and suffered for it. Josh Hazlewood was clinical as he took crucial wickets and utilized the bounce to perfection.
Suyash Sharma changed from the game with his variations, particularly his wrong ‘uns, which bamboozled the PBKS batsmen. He picked up three crucial wickets. Yash Dayal and Mohammed Siraj ably assisted, with the fast bowlers as a group picking up seven of the ten wickets.
The top-order collapse started early enough with Priyansh Arya mistiming a drive and Shreyas Iyer edging a pull behind the keeper. Josh Inglis and Marcus Stoinis, both having problems reading the bounce and spin, were victims of poor shot choices.
PBKS’s Poor Tactics on a Tough Pitch
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Punjab Kings were unable to change their strategy, even though early on, their game plan had signs that would suggest caution was required. 160 would have represented a competitive target, but advised in their aggressive ways, they fell off a cliff. Reckless sweeping and poor shot selection lost PBKS.
Suyash Sharma’s variations fooled Shashank Singh, Musheer Khan, and Marcus Stoinis. The lower-order contributions were negligible, and Hazlewood returned to finish off the tail, skittish PBKS for only 101.
Salt’s Explosive Start Wins the Game for RCB
Though conditions were harder in the second innings with more seam and bounce, Phil Salt accepted the chase. He hammered his way to the quickest IPL fifty of his career, achieving the milestone in just 23 balls. Salt unleashed a barrage of attacking strokes in the form of pulls, cuts, and cover drives.
His onslaught eliminated any hope PBKS had of defending their paltry total. Virat Kohli provided RCB with a blistering start with a boundary off the first ball and 30 rapid runs before being dismissed. Rajat Patidar finished the job with a flourish by launching a six as RCB sealed the chase comfortably with time to spare (10 overs).
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