Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) played Qualifier 1 against Punjab Kings (PBKS) at the Mullanpur Stadium and won the match to secure their place in IPL 2025 Final. Nothing went right for Punjab Kings from the outset. After losing the toss and being asked to bat first on a slightly tacky surface in Mullanpur, their innings never got going. Both openers fell cheaply, and things only got worse from there. Josh Hazlewood was relentless with the new ball, striking early to dismiss key batters Shreyas Iyer and Josh Inglis. Once the top order was dismantled, Suyash Sharma stepped in and tore through the middle and lower order with a superb three-wicket spell. Poor shot selection compounded PBKS’s woes, and they were eventually bundled out for a paltry 101.
Punjab’s batting lineup completely collapsed and the target was too difficult for the bowlers to defend following which Shreyas Iyer was seen visibly frustrated. He even highlighted in the post-match presentation that the team has to seriously check out their loopholes and work on them.
“Not a day to forget, but we have to go to the drawing board. We were befuddled and lost a lot of wickets. Something to go back and study. Not doubting on my decisions in terms of planning. Outside of the ground, it was on point. Couldn’t execute, can’t blame our bowlers. It was such a low total. Got to work on our batting, on this wicket. In all games here, there has been variable bounce. Can’t give such reasons because we are professionals and we have to live up to it. We have lost the battle but not the war.”
Punjab Kings will now be playing Qualifier 2 which is on June 1 and it will be played against the winner of Eliminator which will be decided today.
