🏏IPL 2025, M 37 RCB vs PK,@ Mullanpur 20th Apr.3:30pm IST🏏

🏏IPL 2025 – Match 37: Punjab Kings vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru | April 20, 3:30 PM IST | Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, Mullanpur, New Chandigarh 🏏

Punjab Kings and Royal Challengers Bengaluru are all set to lock horns in the 37th match of the ongoing Indian Premier League 2025. The match is scheduled to be contested on Sunday, April 20, at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur. Notably, the two sides faced each other less than 48 hours ago in a rain-curtailed fixture in Bengaluru. The Shreyas Iyer-led side registered a five-wicket win in the 14-over match.

The Punjab franchise has looked impressive this season and is currently riding high on confidence after two brilliant wins. With five wins in seven games, they now sit in the second position in the points table with 10 points and a positive NRR of 0.308. The side would hope to register another win before having a five-day gap for their next match.

For RCB, this will be a revenge game, and they will be happy to take on the same opposition to prove their brilliance. For the Rajat Patidar-led side, their home ground performances have been contrasting to their away games. With four wins on the road, RCB has lost all three games at home.

Preview:

For the second time in three days, Punjab Kings will take on Royal Challengers Bengaluru with the hope of completing a double over their opponents. The match in Bengaluru, a rain-marred fixture, was won by the Kings who took advantage of a sticky surface to prevail in a 14-over clash. Given the conditions in New Chandigarh, this could be another surface where the batters may have to use their smarts rather than the long handle.

Punjab Kings have ticked most boxes this season, and with five wins in seven games, they seem well on track to get into the playoffs at this point. What works in their favour is their high-flying intent at the start along with immense batting depth, coupled with an efficient bowling unit which makes them a side with most bases covered. In the initial games, their premier spinner Yuzvendra Chahal had a quiet time but the seasoned leggie has roared back in style over the last two games, including the historic defence of 111 here in New Chandigarh against KKR.

As head coach Ricky Ponting mentioned after that win against the defending champions, PBKS are a side brimming with confidence. However, they do face a RCB side that is yet to taste defeat on the road this season. Rajat Patidar's men may have been unable to crack the code at home so far, losing all three games in Bengaluru, but they have managed to ensure a 100 percent record in away games. This includes iconic wins in Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai. Unlike previous years, this RCB outfit does have a better balance to it across all facets.

For starters, Phil Salt has been a priceless addition to the squad and the Englishman's trademark blitz at the top has been instrumental to RCB's wins so far. Captain Patidar, senior man Virat Kohli and Tim David have all looked in good touch with the odd cameos from Liam Livingstone and Jitesh Sharma. That said, this is a batting unit which will need to be smarter on tricky surfaces, given that most of the batters are flamboyant strokemakers. The bowling also lacks a potent spinner, although Krunal Pandya and Suyash Sharma have punched above their weight.

Josh Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar Kumar with the new ball are arguably the best opening duo with the ball this season. Their exploits will be critical once again if they are to rein in PBKS' ultra-aggressive batting unit. Given that both sides have free-flowing batters in the ranks, this battle could well be decided by which bowling unit steps up to the plate. Punjab Kings have a slight edge of form and momentum from the earlier fixture but Royal Challengers Bengaluru have shown already that they are a tough nut to crack away from home.

Pitch and conditions

PBKS have been equally as stumped as some of the visiting teams over the decks they've been offered in Mullanpur. In the previous game here, there was plenty of spice that fast bowlers from both sides exploited. If that's the case, RCB will be more than a handful. Dew wasn't a factor when PBKS defended 112 vs KKR, and teams will hope it continues to remain that way.

What to expect: In the three games this season, teams batting first breached the 200-run mark two times. The last game, though, saw an IPL record for the lowest ever total successfully defended. even as the pitch didn't seem that difficult. This will be the first afternoon game at this venue and also PBKS' final home game here before they move to Dharamsala. Expect another decent batting strip with some help for the spinners and change of pace bowlers.

Head to Head: Punjab Kings 18-16 Royal Challengers Bengaluru

Team News:

Punjab Kings

Injury and Availability: Lockie Ferguson continues to be out with injury and is likely to be ruled out of the remainder of this season.

Tactics and matchups: Harpreet Brar played his first game of the season in the previous fixture between the two sides. It was a strategic move, given the right-hand dominated batting line-up of RCB and Brar's impressive personal record against the franchise. The left-arm spinner returned two scalps and now has ten wickets in seven games against RCB at a frugal economy of 7.71. Yuzvendra Chahal also has favourable numbers against RHBs since the start of IPL 2024, conceding just 8.19 RPO with 18 wickets from 279 deliveries bowled and a dot ball percentage of 31.

Probable XII: Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh, Shreyas Iyer(c), Nehal Wadhera, Josh Inglis(wk), Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Marco Jansen, Harpreet Brar, Xavier Bartlett, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru

Injury and availability: No injuries or availability concerns have been reported.

Tactics and matchups: Among the batters with best strike-rates against spin this season (minimum 50 balls faced), Shreyas Iyer is the only batter not to be dismissed even once. He also has a strike-rate of 186.79, making him a big scalp on a potentially spin-conducive Mullanpur pitch. Krunal Pandya, though, has a good history against the PBKS captain who only strikes at 89.13 against the left-arm spinner. Iyer has only fallen once in 46 balls, scoring 41 runs but has been strangled by Krunal. This could be a key matchup in the contest.

Probable XII: Phil Salt, Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar(c), Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma(wk), Tim David, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Suyash Sharma, Josh Hazlewood, Yash Dayal.

In the spotlight

Arshdeep Singh has taken a while to hit his strides in the powerplay in the absence of late swing. This translated into him picking up just one wicket in the powerplay in the first six games. In Bengaluru against RCB, he dismissed Salt and Kohli - albeit off deliveries bowled into the surface - in consecutive overs to set the tone for PBKS' win. His return to form bodes well for PBKS.

The 26 balls he faced during his 50 not out against PBKS on Friday night is the most Tim David has faced in an innings in the IPL. On Friday night, he averted a full-blown meltdown and took the innings into the last two overs, fully trusting himself to inflict damage. He ended up hitting 32 en route his IPL highest. And so it elicits a question: with Liam Livingstone struggling for batting form, is there a case for David to earn a promotion?

Stats and trivia

• Arya strikes at 231 in IPL 2025, and has made 208 runs in four innings while batting first; his numbers dip drastically in chases, averaging just 8 and striking at 114.

• David's 22 sixes are the most between overs 17-20 since IPL 2024. He's hit 12 of those sixes this season.

• Among batters who've scored at least 200 runs, Rajat Patidar's strike rate of 182 vs spin is the highest for an RCB batter.

• After a lackluster start - two wickets in five games at an economy of 11.1 - Chahal has picked six wickets in the last two games alone, at an economy of 5.6

Did you know?

- Of the batters with the highest strike-rate against spin this season (50-plus balls faced), Shreyas Iyer is the only batter not to be dismissed even once

- Royal Challengers Bengaluru have lost 17 wickets to short-of-a-good-length bowling from pacers this season, the most by any team

- Yuzvendra Chahal's stats against left-handers and right-handers have a big disparity since IPL 2024. Against RHBs, his economy is 8.19 with a bowling average of 21.16 which shoots up to 46.37 against LHBs at an economy of 11.07

What they said:

"Everyone has a role to play in the team. I tried to do that (whatever role was given to me) to my best. I like to bowl in the PowerPlay, but [am] ready to bowl in any situation. We know what's expected from us when we walk on the field, it makes it lot easier for us." - Marco Jansen reveals the secret behind PBKS' success so far this season.

"No matter how the wicket plays, we need to bat well and get a winning total. The bowling unit is doing pretty well, that's a big positive. The batters have played with intent, that's something pleasing. We can correct some of our mistakes in the batting unit." - Rajat Patidar is hopeful the batting department will improve for RCB.

PBKS vs RCB Probable Best Performers

Probable Best Batter of the Match: Nehal Wadhera

Left-handed batter Nehal Wadhera could play a critical role in the forthcoming game against RCB. Wadhera is the third-highest run scorer of his side, having so far accumulated 184 runs in six games at an average of 46.00. Just a day earlier, against the same opposition, the southpaw played an unbeaten innings of 33 and guided his side to their fifth-win of the season.

Probable Best Bowler of the Match: Yuzvendra Chahal

Yuzvendra Chahal will be keen to help his side in the upcoming clash against the Bengaluru-based franchise. The star leg spinner, after having going wicketless in the first few games, has found his rhythm back and is looking solid. In the last two games, Chahal has picked six wickets, taking his overall tally to eight scalps. In the game against KKR, he single-handedly with a four-wicket haul, taking his team to the winning side in a match which always looked in Kolkata's favour.