Royal Challengers Bangalore and Punjab Kings will face off on Friday in IPL 2025. In their last match, Punjab Kings defended the lowest score in IPL history against Kolkata Knight Riders, so the Bangalore batsmen will need to face the strong bowling attack of Punjab Kings. RCB has not been able to register a win at home so far this season.

RCB’s batsmen struggled against Gujarat Titans’ R Sai Kishore and Delhi Capitals’ Kuldeep Yadav and Vipraj Nigam on a slow pitch, so Chahal and Glenn Maxwell will look to take full advantage of this weakness. Both Chahal and Maxwell have been part of RCB for a long time and are well aware of the conditions here.

Bangalore Must Be Careful of Chahal’s Threat

It is not easy for any batsman to face Yuzvendra Chahal, who regained his form by taking four wickets against Kolkata Knight Riders. Maxwell, despite his poor batting performance, is likely to get a place in the playing XI. Chahal is a master at controlling length, rather than relying on magical deliveries. The leg-spinner bowls outside the off-stump, tempting batsmen to play big shots, which often results in them getting caught near the boundary.

Chahal also cleverly adjusts his speed, making it difficult for batsmen to hit sixes off him. Maxwell, also a spinner, focuses on control rather than big turns or dipping deliveries.

RCB has strong spinners in Krunal Pandya and Suyash Sharma, and the team will expect a better performance from them. Punjab Kings have good fast bowlers in Arshdeep Singh and Marco Jansen, although they lack the experience of RCB’s Josh Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

Rajat Patidar and Shreyas Iyer Impress as Captains

When it comes to captains, Rajat Patidar and Shreyas Iyer are quite different in style. Iyer, with his impressive record as a batsman and IPL-winning captain, has established himself as a strong leader. On the other hand, Patidar is captaining for the first time in the IPL.

Despite the differences, both captains have led their teams efficiently, keeping calm under pressure. Both are known to be good batsmen against spin bowling, and their performances with the bat will be crucial for their respective teams.

Punjab Kings’ Confidence Boosted After Low-Scoring Victory

Winning a low-scoring match against Kolkata would have boosted Punjab Kings’ morale. However, they must be cautious against RCB, which boasts a deep batting and bowling lineup. Overcoming RCB is never an easy task for any team.

Team Lineups:

Royal Challengers Bangalore: Rajat Patidar (captain), Virat Kohli, Yash Dayal, Josh Hazlewood, Phil Salt, Jitesh Sharma (wicketkeeper), Liam Livingstone, Rasikh Salam, Suyash Sharma, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Swapnil Singh, Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Nuwan Tushara, Manoj Bhandaage, Jacob Bethell, Devdutt Padikkal, Swastik Chikara, Lungi Ngidi, Abhinandan Singh, Mohit Rathi.

Punjab Kings: Shreyas Iyer (captain), Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh (wicketkeeper), Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Marco Jansen, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Yash Thakur, Suryansh Shedge, Praveen Dubey, Vijaykumar Vishak, Harpreet Brar, Azmatullah Umarzai, Josh Inglis, Xavier Bartlett, Vishnu Vinod, Aaron Hardie, Kuldeep Sen, Harnoor Singh, Mushir Khan, Pala Avinash.