Evenly matched Punjab Kings and RCB fight for ticket to finale
While Hazlewood is set to return to action for RCB, David is unlikely to play due to injury
Hemant Brar
28-May-2025
Big picture: Ticket to finale
Qualifier 1 of IPL 2025, in New Chandigarh, will be a clash of two teams that share a past and a present. To begin with, both Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) are searching for their maiden IPL title.
This is the first time since 2014 that PBKS have made it to the playoffs. They had topped the league stage then also, before losing to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the final.
RCB have been regulars in the playoffs in the past few years, but the last time they finished in the top two was in 2016. Just like PBKS in 2014, they went on to lose the final then, to Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH).
PBKS' success in IPL 2025 has revolved around their uncapped Indian players, while RCB have traditionally been the home of the game's biggest superstars, they have shed that persona this time. Their captain Rajat Patidar has four international caps to his name, their vice-captain Jitesh Sharma nine.
The similarities don't end there. Both teams have key bowlers coming in after brief injury layoffs. Yuzvendra Chahal missed PBKS' last two games with a wrist issue but is expected to be fit for Thursday's game. Similarly, RCB are set to be bolstered by Josh Hazlewood's return after a shoulder injury.
At the same time, both teams will be without an important player each. PBKS allrounder Marco Jansen has returned to South Africa to prepare for the World Test Championship (WTC) final, while RCB's Tim David is unlikely to be available due to the hamstring injury he picked up against SRH.
Whichever way you look at it, it's not easy to separate the two teams. If PBKS have the advantage of playing at home (though it's not a home game, technically), RCB will take confidence from their win against them at this venue earlier in the season. The good thing is that whoever loses on Thursday will get another shot at getting to the final.
Form guide
Punjab Kings WLWWW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Royal Challengers Bengaluru WLWWW
Royal Challengers Bengaluru WLWWW
In the spotlight: Shreyas Iyer and Virat Kohli
Not only are Shreyas Iyer and Virat Kohli the most experienced batters of their sides, but also the leading run-getters. Kohli has 608 runs at a strike rate of 147.91; Iyer 514 at 171.90. Of late, both have improved their T20 games: Iyer against pace and bounce, Kohli with his overall intent.
But Kohli might have the upper hand on Thursday. Iyer has scored just 25 runs in four innings in New Chandigarh this season and has an underwhelming record against several RCB bowlers (more on that in the stats section below). On the other hand, Kohli was the Player of the Match for his unbeaten 73 off 54 balls the last time these two teams played here. After RCB won that game, Kohli turned towards Iyer and celebrated animatedly. Apparently, Kohli did it in jest, but Iyer did not seem to take it that way. So get ready for round 2.
The big question
Team news and likely XIIs
In their last match, PBKS played both Jansen and Kyle Jamieson, thus giving themselves the option of a fifth frontline bowler while still maintaining the batting cushion. Now with Jansen unavailable, they may have to bring back Azmatullah Omarzai. The other option is to play one of Xavier Bartlett and Vijaykumar Vyshak, but that will compromise their batting depth.
Punjab Kings (probable): 1 Priyansh Arya, 2 Prabhsimran Singh, 3 Josh Inglis (wk), 4 Shreyas Iyer (capt), 5 Nehal Wadhera, 6 Shashank Singh, 7 Marcus Stoinis, 8 Azmatullah Omarzai, 9 Kyle Jamieson, 10 Harpreet Brar, 11 Arshdeep Singh, 12 Yuzvendra Chahal
Nuwan Thushara was the pick of the bowlers against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), but he is the likeliest to make way for Hazlewood. If RCB want to play both, they will have to rejig their overseas combination, something they may not want to do at this stage.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (probable): 1 Virat Kohli, 2 Phil Salt, 3 Mayank Agarwal, 4 Rajat Patidar (capt), 5 Jitesh Sharma (wk), 6 Krunal Pandya, 7 Liam Livingstone, 8 Romario Shepherd, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Yash Dayal, 11 Josh Hazlewood, 12 Suyash Sharma
Pitch and conditions
New Chandigarh has hosted four IPL games so far this season. The first two featured three 200-plus totals. The last two saw 111 all out, 95 all out, and 157 for 6 in 20 overs. It will be interesting to see what sort of pitch is dished out on Thursday. The temperature should be around 30°C with no forecast for rain.
Key stats
- Among the ten batters who have scored over 500 runs in the season, Iyer's strike rate of 171.90 is second only to Nicholas Pooran's 196.25.
- But Hazlewood has dismissed Iyer three times in 19 balls in T20 cricket while giving away just nine runs. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, too, has got Iyer out three times in the IPL while conceding just 45 runs in 50 balls. While Iyer has got out only once to Krunal Pandya, he has a strike rate of just 85.41 (41 runs in 48 balls) against him.
- Arshdeep Singh has dismissed Phil Salt four times in 32 balls while conceding only 25 runs.
- Mayank Agarwal averages just 12.00 against Chahal (six dismissals for 72 runs) in the IPL but has a strike rate of 160.00 (72 runs in 45 balls, with five sixes).
Hemant Brar is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo