In the 37th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) beat Punjab Kings (PBKS) by seven wickets at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Chandigarh.
RCB won the toss and opted to field first. It was a tough outing for the away team with the new ball; however, a change of pace did the trick as Krunal Pandya got the first breakthrough. From there, PBKS struggled to gain momentum, losing wickets on a regular basis. RCB bowlers tightened the brakes in the death overs, conceding only 28 runs in the final four, restricting off a clinical bowling performance.
Chasing 158, RCB got the best start, with Virat Kohli (73*) leading the charge. The legendary batter maintained his excellent form by hitting his 59th IPL half-century, which included seven fours and one six. Devdutt Padikkal (61), who also scored a fifty, assisted the right-handed batter with a strike rate of 174.29. Both batters scored 103 runs for the second wicket partnership, which helped the visitors win the game.
Priyansh Arya (22) and Prabhsimran Singh (33) gave PBKS a strong start in the powerplay. Nonetheless, the team kept losing wickets, putting them behind in the game. Shashank Singh (31*) was the other batter who scored runs. The side only managed to score 157/6.
With the ball for RCB, Suyash Sharma and Krunal Pandya scalped two wickets each. With them, Romario Shepherd also managed to grab his first wicket of the season.
For PBKS with the ball, one wicket each was taken by Arshdeep Singh, Harpreet Brar and Yuzvendra Chahal.
Kohli was adjudged Player of the Match for his outstanding batting show. With this win, RCB are now third on the points table with 10 points.
Scorecard:
Punjab Kings: 157/6, Overs 20, Prabhsimran Singh 33, Krunal Pandya 2/25
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: 159/3, Overs 18.5, Virat Kohli 73*, Yuzvendra Chahal 1/13