Picture Credit: BCCI/IPL
On Friday, April 18, Punjab Kings (PBKS) registered a comfortable five-wicket win against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in match number 34 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. After being restricted to 95/9 in 14 overs a side game, the Shreyas Iyer-led side pulled up a convincing win with 11 balls to spare.
For the unversed, after winning the toss, Shreyas Iyer, the captain of PBKS, decided to field first. As a result, the hosts were put to bat first at their own backyard. The Rajat Patidar-led side could not get the start that was expected as PBKS pacer, Arshdeep Singh dismissed Phil Salt in the first over. Virat Kohli also could not add with his bat as he also departed having scored one off three deliveries.
Although, the skipper put up 23 runs, but did not get support from the other end as wickets kept falling at regular intervals. With Tim David taking the field when the scorecard read 33/5 in 6.1 overs, he tried his best and with a well played unbeaten 50, helped the hosts put 95 runs on the board in a rain-reduced game. In the bowling department, PBKS bowlers looked good as Arshdeep Singh, Marco Jansen, Yuzvendra Chahal and Harpreet Brar picked up two wickets each whereas Xavier Bartlett put one in his bag.
PBKS jump to take second spot in IPL 2024 standings
In the run chase, PBKS openers had a decent start with Priyansh Arya, adding 16 runs whereas Prabhsimran Singh also amassed 13 off nine during his stay in the middle. With Shreyar Iyer and wicketkeeper-batter Josh Inglis then taking the crease, added seven and 14 runs respectively before they were dismissed by Josh Hazlewood.
In the end, a four and a six off Josh Hazlewood’s over by Nehal Wadhera got the game back in the hands of PBKS and helped the side seal victory with 11 balls to spare. With a win, PBKS moved to the second place in the IPL 2025 points table, whereas RCB dropped down to fourth place.
