Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) will lock horns with Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the 37th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 on Sunday (April 20). The last time, both teams faced each other, Shreyas Iyer’s PBKS clinched win by 5 wickets in game shortened by rain, played at RCB’s home ground, Chinnaswamy Stadium. Ahead of the match to be played at PBKS’ home ground, Mullanpur, RCB skipper Rajat Patidar spoke about their strategy in the game.
Rajat Patidar ahead of PBKS vs RCB clash
“No matter how the wicket plays, we need to bat well and get a winning total,” Rajat Patidar expressed.
“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,” he further added.
RCB’s position in the Points Table of IPL 2025
RCB are currently in the fifth position on the Points Table. They have won four away matches and lost all the three home games, so far. They have 8 points and an NRR of +0.446. Interestingly, RCB are the only team to not win a single game played at their home ground.
Matches that RCB lost at home ground this season
Lost vs Gujarat Titans by 8 wickets
Lost vs Delhi Capitals by 6 wickets
Lost vs Punjab Kings by 5 wickets
RCB vs PBKS previous game
The previous match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Punjab Kings was shortened to just 14 overs due to rain. Coming to bat first, the RCB batters struggled and managed to score 95/9 powered by Tim David’s half-century. However, PBKS chased the target in just 12.1 overs and added two more points to their tally.
“Initially it was sticking and two paced, but we could have done far better as a batting unit. Partnerships are important, we have lost wickets in quick intervals and that’s a big lesson for us. The wicket wasn’t that bad, it was under covers for a long time, it helped their bowlers, credit goes to them,” Rajat Patidar said after the game.
Probable Playing XIIs
Punjab Kings: 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: 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.
