Josh Hazlewood returned to the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) playing XI as skipper Rajat Patidar won the toss and chose to bowl first against Punjab Kings (PBKS) in RCB vs PBKS Qualifier 1 of IPL 2025 on Thursday at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium.
The winner of this match will enter the IPL final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on June 3. However, the losing team will get another chance via Qualifier 2 at the same venue on Sunday.
PBKS, who topped the league stage, are playing their first playoff in 11 years. Interestingly, RCB had beaten them earlier this season at this venue. Furthermore, Patidar resumed captaincy after recovering from a finger injury, and Hazlewood returned from a shoulder niggle.
After the toss, Patidar said, “Wicket looks very hard, decent covering of grass, and will try to maximise the first few overs. Everyone gave more than 100 percent in the last game, Jitesh, Salt, and Kohli were tremendous, though there are a few niggles.”
PBKS skipper Shreyas Iyer confirmed Marco Jansen’s exit as he joins South Africa’s Test squad. Azmatullah Omarzai replaces him in the XI. Also, leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal remains out due to a wrist niggle.
“Would have bowled first as well. But records here favour batting first, so I’m optimistic. The crowd support gives us great energy. Our openers have shown fearless attitude,” Iyer said.
The pitch has hosted two games earlier this season. Both night matches were won by teams batting first. The square boundaries measure 62m and 65m, while the straight boundary is 73m.
Punjab Kings: Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh, Josh Inglis (wk), Shreyas Iyer (capt), Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Azmatullah Omarzai, Harpreet Brar, Arshdeep Singh, Kyle Jamieson
Impact subs: Vijaykumar Vyshak, Praveen Dubey, Suryansh Shedge, Musheer Khan, Xavier Bartlet
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Virat Kohli, Philip Salt, Rajat Patidar (capt), Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yash Dayal, Josh Hazlewood, Suyash Sharma
Impact subs: Mayank Agarwal, Rasikh Salam, Manoj Bhandage, Tim Seifert, Swapnil Singh
Also Read: IPL 2025: Shashank Singh Credits Ponting And Iyer For Cultural Reset As PBKS Eye Historic Title
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