RCB vs PBKS Today Match Results: Punjab Kings (PBKS) have the last laugh against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) by five wickets in a rain-affected Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 encounter at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on April 19.
PBKS get the better of RCB
In a 14-over per side match, Punjab Kings successfully navigated the conditions and the RCB bowling attack, ultimately overhauling the 96-run target with 11 balls to spare. A significant contribution to their victory came from Nehal Wadhera, who played a crucial unbeaten innings of 33 runs off just 19 deliveries. His aggressive and composed batting under pressure proved to be the difference-maker in guiding Punjab Kings across the finish line. Despite a brilliant bowling performance from Josh Hazlewood, who picked up three wickets for a miserly 14 runs for RCB, his efforts were ultimately not enough to prevent Punjab Kings from securing the win.
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RCB recorded their third defeat in the season while PBKS notched their fifth victory.
Both PBKS and RCB will lock horns with each other once again on April 20 at the Mullanpur stadium.
RCB's batting collapse
Earlier, in a rain-affected encounter where both PBKS and RCB were slated to bat for 14 overs each, PBKS' bowling attack executed their strategies effectively. Their disciplined performance managed to restrict RCB to a modest total of 95 runs for the loss of 9 wickets.
This decision to bowl first set the stage for PBKS' bowlers to immediately put pressure on the RCB batting lineup.
The opening pair for RCB consisted of the experienced Virat Kohli and Phil Salt. However, PBKS' bowling attack made an immediate impact. Arshdeep Singh struck early, dismissing Phil Salt for just 4 runs in the very first over. Following Salt's dismissal, RCB skipper Rajat Patidar joined Virat Kohli in the middle, looking to stabilise the innings.
The second over saw a personal milestone for Rajat Patidar as he surpassed 1000 runs in his IPL career, achieving this feat as the second-fastest Indian batter to reach this landmark. However, Arshdeep Singh continued his impressive spell, striking again in the third over to remove the crucial wicket of Virat Kohli, who departed for a mere 1 run off 3 deliveries. Liam Livingstone then joined Patidar at the crease, tasked with rebuilding the RCB innings under pressure from the disciplined PBKS' bowlers.
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PBKS' bowlers continued to exert control as the innings progressed. In the fourth over, Xavier Bartlett struck, dismissing Liam Livingstone for a score of 4. The fielders backed up their bowlers effectively, with Punjab Kings' players taking some sharp catches during the powerplay. Following Livingstone's dismissal, wicketkeeper-batter Jitesh Sharma joined the RCB skipper at the crease, hoping to stem the flow of wickets. However, the experienced spinner Yuzvendra Chahal further dented RCB's hopes by removing Jitesh Sharma for just two runs in the 7th over, ensuring that RCB continued to lose wickets at regular intervals.
RCB's impact player, Manoj Bhandage, brought in to inject some momentum into the innings, failed to make a significant contribution with the bat. He was dismissed cheaply for just one run in the ninth over by Jansen, further compounding RCB's woes.
Harpreet Brar, making his first appearance of the season for Punjab Kings, made an immediate impact with the ball. In his very first over, he struck twice in quick succession, removing Bhuvneshwar for 8 runs and then dismissing Yash Dayal in the 12th over. This double breakthrough significantly hampered RCB's chances of mounting a recovery. Amidst the steady fall of wickets, David emerged as the lone bright spot in RCB's batting lineup. He displayed some aggressive intent towards the end of the innings, smashing three sixes in the final over to reach a fighting half-century. Marco Jansen was the standout bowler for PBKS, picking up two crucial wickets while conceding just 10 runs. Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal, and Harpreet Brar also contributed significantly, each taking two wickets. Xavier Bartlett chipped in with a single wicket, rounding off a disciplined and effective bowling performance from PBKS.
Punjab Kings' chase
Priyansh Arya, who joined Prabhsimran Singh at the top of the order after coming in as an Impact Substitute for Yuzvendra Chahal, provided PBKS with a composed start to their run chase. The opening pair put together a partnership of 22 runs in the initial 2.4 overs before Bhuvneshwar Kumar struck for RCB, dismissing Prabhsimran Singh for 13 runs, which included two boundaries.
RCB's Josh Hazlewood then accounted for the other opener, Priyansh Arya. The left-handed batsman had raced to 16 runs off just 11 deliveries before mistiming a pull shot, which was caught by Tim David, who moved swiftly to his right from mid-off. Notably, David had also taken the earlier catch to dismiss Prabhsimran Singh. Despite losing both their openers within the powerplay, Punjab Kings managed to score 33 runs during this phase, a significantly higher total compared to RCB's effort of just 19 runs for three wickets in the same period.
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