Picture : IPL / X. Josh Hazlewood , RCB
Keen to end their IPL title jinx, ruthless Royal Challengers Bengaluru camne out with all guns blazing to thrash Punjab Kings by 8 wickets in Qualifier 1 to reach their fourth IPL final.
Back in the side RCB Skipper Rajat Patidar won the toss and oted to bowl first. And his bowlers gave him a dream show. With regular wickets , RCB bowlers were all over Punjab Kings.
Playing in Play-offs first since 2014, Punjab Kings batting fell like a pack of cards on a big match. It was a horror show and th scores of batsmen said it all . Priyansh Arya 7, Prabhsimran Singh 18, Josh Inglis 4, Skipper Shreyas Iyer 2, Nehal Wadhera, Marcus Stoinis 26 , Shashank Singh 3, Musheer Khan 0, Azmatullah Omarzai 18, Harpreet Brar 4, Arshdeep Singh not out 0.
Punjab Kings shot out for a dismal 101/ 10 in 14.1 overs. They could not bat even their full quota of 20 overs. It left the home crowd stunned .
However that that does not take away the credit from RCB bowlers who bolwed with control and to their field. It was a super effort. Josh Hazlewood, Suyash Sharma leading the way.
RCB Bowling : Bhuvneshwar Kumar 1/ 17 (2 overs), Yash Dayal 2/26 ( 4 overs), Josh Hazlewood 3/21 ( 3.1 overs), Suyash Sharma 3/17 ( 3 overs), Krunal Pandya 0/10 ( 1 over), Romario Shepherd 1/5 ( 1 over)
RCB cruised through the target with ease . Virat Kohli was out for 12. Mayank Agarwal 19. These were the only RCB wickets to fall as opener Philip Salt in great from this season scored yet another fifty this time 56 not out ( 27 balls, 6 fours, 3 sixes) and Skier Rajat Patidar not out 15 ( 8 balls, 1 four, 1 six) as RCB powered their home reaching 106/ 2 in 10 overs.
Punjab Kings Bowling : Arshdeep Singh 0/20 ( 2 overs), Kyle Jamieson 1/27 ( 3 overs), Azmatullah Omarzai 0/10 ( 1 over), Harpreet Brar 0/18 ( 2 overs), Musheer Khan 1/27 ( 2 overs)
RCB now awaits the winner of the Qualifier 2 . As Mumbai Indians take on Gujarat Titans in the Eliminator. The Eliminator winner takes on Punjab Kings for a place in the final.
Punjab Kings have a two-day break to reflect their horrr show as they await the MI vs GT winner to have second crack at the final…
Match: IPL 2025, Qualifier 1
Venue: Mohali | Date: May 29, 2025
