IPL 2025: What to expect as RCB meet PBKS again after rain-soaked Chinnaswamy encounter

Royal Challengers Bengaluru have very little time to regroup and reevaluate before a return Indian Premier League match against in-form Punjab Kings on Sunday.

 

With the exception of Tim David (50 not out off 26), the RCB batters had a night to forget as they slipped to 95 /9 against PBKS in Bengaluru on Friday, losing the match by five wickets. The fact that David single-handedly managed over half of the total score with 21 runs coming from the last over the game points out how terrible an outing the RCB batters had at their home turf.

 

In a rain-curtailed 14-over-a-side match, they cut a sorry figure with the likes of Phil Salt, Virat Kohli, skipper Rajat Patidar, and Liam Livingstone failing miserably in front of their home crowd.

 

On Sunday, RCB would expect Salt and Kohli to provide an explosive start without fail. On the bowling front, Josh Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar Kumar will be spearheading the attack but they will need a lot more support from people like Yash Dayal, Krunal and Suyash Sharma.

 

 

PBKS, on the other hand, are going great guns under Shreyas Iyer's leadership and are currently placed second in the standings with five wins in seven games behind table toppers Delhi Capitals.

 

What has stood out for PBKS this season is their bowling department.

 

Arshdeep Singh, Xavier Bartlett and Marco Jansen have been brilliant on the pace front, while leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal has reignited himself, taking crucial wickets in the middle overs.

 

Chahal's attacking bowling has reaped rich dividends for PBKS, something which the team's skipper Iyer acknowledged.

 

 

As far as their batting is concerned, young Priyansh Arya, who had already hit a ton, and Prabhsimran Singh are expected to give a good start to PBKS innings.

 

In Iyer, Josh Inglis, Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh and Marcus Stoinis, PBKS boast of strong middle-order.

 

Teams | Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Rajat Patidar (c), Virat Kohli, Yash Dayal, Josh Hazlewood, Phil Salt, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Liam Livingstone, Rasikh Salam, Suyash Sharma, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Swapnil Singh, Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Nuwan Thushara, Manoj Bhandage, Jacob Bethel, Devdutt Padikkal, Swastik Chhikara, Lungi Ngidi, Abhinandan Singh, Mohit Rathee.

 

Punjab Kings: Shreyas Iyer (c), Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Marco Jansen, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Yash Thakur, Suryansh Shedge, Praveen Dubey, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Harpreet Brar, Azmatullah Omarzai, Josh Inglis, Xavier Bartlett, Vishnu Vinod, Aaron Hardie, Kuldeep Sen, Harnoor Singh, Musheer Khan, Pyla Avinash.

 

Match starts at 3.30 PM. 

Sports