 "IPL 2025 Qualifier 1, PBKS vs RCB: Kohli vs Arshdeep, iyer vs hazlewood and other key battles to watch out for")
Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) will be aiming to inch closer towards realising their dream of winning the Indian Premier League (IPL) when they face each other in Qualifier 1 in Mullanpur on Thursday. The match marks the beginning of the playoffs in the 18th IPL season , with PBKS and RCB having triumphed over Mumbai Indians and Lucknow Super Giants respectively in the last two league matches of the season to finish level on 19 points and confirm themselves for Qualifier 1, earning two shots at reaching the final as a result.
Follow live: PBKS vs RCB Qualifier 1, IPL 2025
While RCB has been a lot more frequent a visitor as far as the IPL playoffs are concerned, PBKS have advanced beyond the league stage for the first time in 11 years, with the Shreyas Iyer-Ricky Ponting captain-coach duo once again weaving their magic after helping Delhi Capitals reach their maiden, and till date only, final five years ago. And the last time they had reached the playoffs, PBKS ended up reaching the final and finishing runners-up following a narrow loss to Kolkata Knight Riders in the final.
RCB, on the other hand, are have finished runners-up thrice, but it’s been a while since they reached the summit clash. A freak season by Virat Kohli in 2016 helped RCB storm into the final but like PBKS two seasons prior, they too fell narrowly short in the game that mattered the most, suffering an 8-run loss against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Despite the fact that the losing team will not get knocked out right away but will instead face the winner of the Eliminator. That assurance, however, will not stop PBKS and RCB from putting their ‘A’ game forward in order to book a direct passage into the final.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsKey player battles to keep an eye on in Qualifier 1 of IPL 2025
Ahead of the final, we take a look at some of the key battles to keep an eye on in Qualifier 1 at the New PCA Stadium:
Josh Hazlewood vs Shreyas Iyer: PBKS captain Iyer has been the team’s leading run-scorer this season, having scored 514 runs at an average and strike rate of 51.40 and 171.90 respectively. Iyer, naturally, will be one of the key targets for the RCB attack on Thursday, and captain Rajat Patidar and head coach Andy Flower will be hoping Australian pacer Hazlewood is able to prise his wicket out early.
Hazlewood has made himself available for the remainder of the season in a great boost to RCB’s hopes, and not only is the Australian their leading wicket-taker (18 wickets in 10 innings), he has also dismissed Iyer thrice in 19 deliveries in the T20 format.
Arshdeep Singh vs Virat Kohli: Like Iyer, Kohli is the leading run-scorer for his franchise with 602 runs at an average and strike rate of 60.20 and 147.91 respectively. And like Hazlewood, Arshdeep is the leading wicket-taker for his franchise, both pacers having collected 18 wickets so far with the Indian having made four more appearances.
Unlike Iyer, Kohli bats at the top of the order and the Punjab attack will have to find a way to nip him in the bud by dismissing him inside the powerplay if they are to prevent him from delivering a match-winning knock.
Yuzvendra Chahal vs Jitesh Sharma: Senior leg-spinner Chahal is expected to return to action after missing PBKS’ last two games due to a wrist injury. And though he doesn’t find himself among the top 10 wicket-takers in the IPL like he has been in recent years, Chahal remains a key threat against the franchise that he was part of for seven years.
Wicketkeeper-batter Jitesh, meanwhile, just produced the knock of a lifetime by smashing an unbeaten 85 off 33 deliveries – his maiden fifty in the IPL – against LSG to propel RCB to a top-two finish. And RCB’s best bet to keep him quiet is Chahal, who had dismissed him for 2 at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium last month and has dismissed him a total of four times in 39 deliveries.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar vs Prabhsimran Singh: While Iyer is PBKS’ leading run-scorer and the only member of their batting lineup to score 500-plus runs this season, Prabhsimran and his opening partner Priyansh Arya aren’t too far behind with 499 and 424 runs respectively, the latter striking at 183.54 in his maiden IPL season. And the fact that Punjab have rarely had both batters fail in the same game this season is one of the reasons why they finished top of the table and appear strong favourites for the title.
RCB will need to keep the two batters quiet if they are to improve their chances of restricting PBKS to a modest total, or put them under pressure from the outset in a chase. Senior pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who has had his moments this season and has collected 14 wickets in 12 outings so far, could be relied upon for the early breakthrough. Especially since he has dismissed Prabhsimran four times in 46 deliveries in T20 cricket.
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