Welcome to RCB vs PBKS live coverage! After 33 exciting matches, it’s time for match number 34th of the 18th edition of the Indian Premier League, which will be played between two of the top performers of the IPL 2025, Punjab Kings and Royal Challengers Bengaluru. The teams are coming off victories in their last games and promise an exciting match, given their form.
Here are the Impact substitutes for both the teams:
Royal Challengers Bengaluru Impact Subs: Devdutt Padikkal, Rasikh Dar Salam, Manoj Bhandage, Jacob Bethell, Swapnil Singh
Punjab Kings Impact Subs: Prabhsimran Singh, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Suryansh Shedge, Glenn Maxwell, Praveen Dubey
Teams:
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (Playing XI): Philip Salt, Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar(c), Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma(w), Tim David, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Suyash Sharma, Yash Dayal
Punjab Kings (Playing XI): Priyansh Arya, Nehal Wadhera, Shreyas Iyer(c), Shashank Singh, Josh Inglis(w), Marcus Stoinis, Marco Jansen, Harpreet Brar, Xavier Bartlett, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal
Rajat Patidar – We have to be smart in adapting to the conditions, we’ll try our best. A bit sticky, but the surface looks hard, we will put up a good total on the board. Same team, but I’m confused with the impact player
Shreyas Iyer – We will bowl first. It’s a good ground to chase and it’s a rain interrupted game, overs have been reduced, will have a fair idea of how the wickert will play and that was always the pln. Stoinis comes in for Maxwell and Harpreet Brar is in. We need to have the right players at the right place, especially the angles.
Punjab Kings have won the toss and have opted to field
Match Format:
– Total Overs: 14 per side
– Powerplay: First 4 overs
– Bowling Restrictions:
– Three bowlers may bowl up to 4 overs each
– One bowler may bowl a maximum of 2 overs
Schedule:
– **First Innings:** 9:45 AM – 10:45 AM
– **Innings Break:** 10:45 AM – 10:55 AM
– **Second Innings:** 10:55 AM – 11:55 AM
The official inspection is underway, with the on-field umpires engaged in an extended discussion with the head curator. Meanwhile, both teams remain on the field, going through their warm-up routines as we await further updates. According to confirmation from Star Sports, the official broadcaster, the toss is scheduled for 9:30 PM, with the match set to begin at 9:45 PM.
Sounds like things are moving along nicely! Looks like the ground staff is confident we’re getting play soon. With the covers off and the hessian being rolled away, we’re definitely on track. Seeing the roller out there is always a good sign too—it usually means they’re just putting the final touches on the surface.
Once we get the toss and playing conditions, we’ll have a clearer idea of the format (overs lost, any revised rules, etc.). Fingers crossed for a full game or at least a decent chunk of cricket. Who are you backing today?
Bharath: Over the past few days, its been raining for 2 to 3 hours in the night here. So, expect the match to happen but with reduced overs
slight drizzle, but signs of hope
Kaushik shares a positive update: groundstaff in raincoats are waiting near the boundary as only a light drizzle falls. Even better—umpires have now stepped out, joined by a few groundstaff.
The toss was scheduled by now, but steady rain continues to delay proceedings. Fortunately, there’s still ample buffer time before any overs are lost.
Toss delayed due to rain
Josh Hazlewood
Three of our quick bowlers, they are a little bit different. No matter who takes the new ball, we have got a role to play. They are great swing bowlers upfront. They are wicket-takers and I try to do my thing. Powerplay has been the best part for us with the ball so far. It’s going to interesting, it’s raining at the moment. I know the outfield dries quickly here, so as soon as the rain stops, we can get on the field quickly. In a couple of games here, it’s been a great learning curve for us. Some guys have played a lot of cricket here, some haven’t played as much. We are always learning on the go. Got to hit the good length, hit the top of stump. Need to go full and swing the ball in the powerplay.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru
Injury & Availability: No injury/availability concerns to report
Tactics & Matchups: Maxwell has had a troubled start to the season but a game against a former team in familiar climes may have come at the right time as he strives to rediscover his mojo. That said, he will come up against Krunal Pandya, a bowler who had dismissed him five times in the IPL. Krunal in fact has also managed to keep Shreyas Iyer (88.89 SR) and Marcus Stoinis (110.71 SR) quiet previously.
Probable XII: Phil Salt, Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar (c), Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Tim David, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Yash Dayal, Suyash Sharma
Punjab Kings
Injury & Availability: Lockie Ferguson is unlikely to play a part in the remainder of IPL 2025 after picking up a suspected hip injury in the SRH game.
Tactics & Matchups: Yuzvendra Chahal isn’t just the IPL’s leading wicket-taker; he’s Chinnaswamy’s old puppet master, and on evidence of the KKR game, the strings are still in his hands. No bowler has more T20 wickets at this venue. Sixteen of his 24 IPL scalps since 2024 have been right-handers. With RCB stacking six of them in their top eight and with some promise of grip from the surface, Chahal won’t need a second invitation to spin a web.
Probable XII: Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh, Shreyas Iyer (c), Nehal Wadhera, Josh Inglis (wk)/Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell, Shashank Singh, Marco Jansen, Xavier Bartlett, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Vijaykumar Vyshak/Yash Thakur
ALSO READ: IPL 2025: Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Punjab Kings: Head To Head
