PBKS vs RCB, IPL Qualifier 1: Shreyas Iyer’s Punjab brace for trial by fire against Virat Kohli’s Bengaluru | Cricket News – Times of India

Punjab Kings captain Shreyas Iyer

TimesofIndia.com in Mullanpur: Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Punjab Kings (PBKS) have been perennial underachievers within the historical past of the Indian Premier League (IPL). At the beginning of the season, nobody gave them an opportunity to complete within the high 4, however on the finish of the league stage, they completed first and second, respectively.On Thursday, the Shreyas Iyer-led PBKS will lock horns against Rajat Patidar’s RCB within the first qualifier of IPL 2025.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Shreyas Iyer has a powerful file within the IPL as a captain. He has led three completely different groups to the IPL playoffs, and on the final two events, his groups have reached the finals. In 2020, he led Delhi Capitals to the ultimate, the place they misplaced to Mumbai Indians, after which in 2024, he guided Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to their third IPL trophy. Will Iyer be fortunate the third time once more?

Where will the match be determined?Hazlewood vs PBKS openersWith Josh Hazlewood again, match, and obtainable for the knockouts, RCB have obtained a significant increase. The PBKS openers Prabhsimran Singh (499 runs) and Priyansh Arya (424 runs) have solid a damaging opening stand. The proper-left combo has additionally labored of their favour. But each the Indian uncapped openers haven’t been examined sufficient within the match. Their power lies in being supplied width, and the duo latch on to it like freebies. But against Hazlewood, it will likely be a problem, because the Australian speedster will take a look at them with good-size deliveries into the stumps. It might be fascinating to see how the kids fare.Virat Kohli vs Arshdeep Singh and Marco JansenWith 602 runs, Virat Kohli is the main run-getter for RCB. And the final time these two groups performed at this venue, Kohli’s unbeaten 73 guided RCB to a thumping seven-wicket win. But Kohli’s Achilles heel through the years has been left-arm seamers. In 99 innings as an opener for RCB, Kohli’s strike price against left-arm quicks is a modest 125.91, and he has been dismissed 17 instances. In Arshdeep Singh and Marco Jansen, PBKS have two high quality left-arm quicks, and Shreyas Iyer will not hesitate to have a crack at Kohli with each of them within the powerplay.

The high bowlers and batters within the Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Punjab Kings camp in IPL 2025.

Six lustPunjab Kings opener Priyansh Arya likes taking part in on the new PCA venue in Mullanpur. In the 42 balls he has confronted at this venue on this 12 months’s IPL, he has smoked 9 sixes and has scored at a strike price of 245.23.Form informationPBKS: W, L, W, W, WRCB: W, L, NR, W, W

Venue statsA complete of 9 matches have been performed at this venue, with groups batting first successful 5 instances and groups chasing rising victorious on 4 events.

“It feels good that we are in the top 2 and obviously what I have manifested — or we have manifested as a team — right back after the auction. It feels so good that you have manifested something and it is happening. Obviously, we have manifested a lot more than this. Maybe June 3 will be the right time to say that. But, I mean, we have crossed a hurdle and it feels good,” PBKS batter Shashank Singh advised TimesofIndia.com.“It was very important for us to be in the top two. That’s what we had planned for, and having achieved that, it is a big boost for RCB. We have less time before our next match, so we will look to recover quickly, take a nap while travelling. Everyone is in a good frame of mind and recovering well from the last game in Lucknow,” stated RCB captain Rajat Patidar.