RCB seek redemption as they arrive in Punjab’s den to lock horns with PBKS

Royal Challengers Bengaluru are all set to return to action again in less than 48 hours after their previous clash as they enter the Lion’s den to take on the return-leg challenge against Punjab Kings. A couple of days earlier, they were humbled in a thrilling encounter back in Chinnaswamy.

RCB will be hopeful of pulling the reins back in as they are still to be defeated away from home in the ongoing season. They have so far vanquished Kolkata Knight Riders, Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals. With their current away form, they will be hoping to pull off a fifth win to push themselves back into the top four.

Punjab Kings will be desperate to keep their momentum going with five wins from seven games. Especially with two wins on the trot where they kept KKR at bay despite defending the lowest total in this year’s IPL and taming RCB at Chinnaswamy, they will be brimming with confidence. With RCB’s away form in the mix and Punjab’s momentum, one can expect this to be a Sunday swashbuckler.

Venue Watch

The track in Punjab is usually a conducive one for the batters. However, the last game that was played here saw the lowest total of IPL 2025 being chronicled. The spinners will definitely have their say while the new ball will also offer a good amount of lateral movement. The batters need to be watchful with the last game witnessing a sticky surface that proved to be quite a minefield of questions for the batters.

Personal battles to watch out for:

Virat Kohli vs Yuzvendra Chahal:

Virat Kohli wasn’t at his sensational best in the last game. However, he will be hopeful of turning this around and definitely will be rooting to bring out the very best in the mix. He has shown already that once on song, he will be tough to stall. Yuzvendra Chahal’s return to form in the last two games will make him a tough contention for the former RCB captain. This might actually be a rivalry to savour as the two stalwarts of the sport go head to head.

Rajat Patidar vs Marco Jansen

Patidar did well in the last match to get a decent start but with very minimal support from the other end, he could hardly get the head of steam needed to propel RCB to something big. He would be crucial for RCB once again if they are to post big. Marco Jansen, on the contrary, has provided to be quite a rewarding source for PBKS and he will once again be coming in with the new ball in his hands to get the better of the RCB captain.

Josh Hazlewood vs Shreyas Iyer

The Bendemeer Bullet left Punjab reeling in the last game as he opened up a small window of opportunity for RCB. However, things went haywire as Nehal Wadhera kept his calm and steered PBKS home. Hazlewood has been brilliant with the new ball and under the pump, he has delivered better. Once again with a face-off against the Punjab captain, Shreyas Iyer, Hazlewood will try and get the upper hand. Iyer has struggled to score in the last couple of games but will be eyeing for a return to runs when RCB set foot in Punjab’s den.

Match detail:

Match: Punjab Kings vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru

Venue: Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, New Chandigarh

Date: 20th April, 2025

Time: 3:30 PM

Head-to-head:

Matches played: 34

RCB: 16

PBKS: 18

Squads:

Royal Challengers Bengaluru:

Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar (c), Swastik Chikara, Devdutt Padikkal, Jitesh Sharma, Philip Salt, Manoj Bhandage, Tim David, Krunal Pandya, Liam Livingstone, Romario Shepherd, Jacob Bethell, Swapnil Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Nuwan Thushara, Lungi Ngidi, Yash Dayal, Rasikh Dar Salam, Suyash Sharma, Mohit Rathee, Abhinandan Singh.

Punjab Kings:

Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh(w), Shreyas Iyer(c), Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Marco Jansen, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Yash Thakur, Suryansh Shedge, Praveen Dubey, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Harpreet Brar, Azmatullah Omarzai, Josh Inglis, Xavier Bartlett, Vishnu Vinod, Aaron Hardie, Kuldeep Sen, Harnoor Singh, Musheer Khan, Pyla Avinash.