In final home stand, Kings eye another win over Challengers

High on two back-to-back low-scoring match wins, Punjab Kings will look to pull off full points from their reverse fixture against Royal Challengers Bengaluru during their last Indian Premier League (IPL) home game at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur on April 20.

Having beaten the Challengers at their home on Friday, the Kings will aim for another win before moving to Dharamsala. However, given the Challengers’ away record, the Kings may face some resistance. In Friday’s rain-shortened 14-over match, the Kings struggled to chase 96, losing five wickets before Nehal Wadhera’s 33 off 19 balls steered them to victory. Meanwhile, the Challengers have little time to recover from their recent defeat. Their batting lineup, barring Tim David, collapsed to 95/9, with key players like Phil Salt, Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar and Liam Livingstone failing to deliver in front of their home crowd.

“We could have done far better as a batting unit. Partnerships are important, and losing wickets in quick succession hurt us," said Patidar after the loss. The Challengers will rely on their bowling attack, led by Josh Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who showed resilience in the last match, while Yash Dayal and Suyash Sharma will seek redemption.

On the other hand, the Kings will welcome the return of spinner Yuzvendra Chahal under Shreyas Iyer’s leadership. Currently third in the standings — one spot above the Challengers — with five wins in seven games, the Kings have been bolstered by strong performances from Arshdeep Singh, Xavier Bartlett and Marco Jansen, who defended their lowest-ever total in the previous match. Chahal’s aggressive bowling has also been a key factor in their success.

Chandigarh