RCB vs PBKS, IPL 2025 highlights: Nehal Wadhera, bowlers shine as Punjab Kings win by 5 wickets

Rajat Patidar: 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. We've had to make that change due to conditions (on leaving out Paddikal). The wicket wasn't that bad, it was under covers for a long time, it helped their bowlers, credit goes to them. 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.

Marcus Stoinis hit a winning six when Punjab Kings needed just 4 runs off 12 balls to win. Nehal Wadhera emerged as the star performer in PBKS' 6-run chase as he scored an unbeaten 33 off 19 balls. In bowling, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal, Marco Jansen, and Harpreet Brar picked two wickets each to restrict 95/9 in a rain-curtailed 14 overs.

WICKET! Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowled a back-of-a-length delivery, angling it in. Shashank Singh (1) tried to hit it straight down the ground, but the ball hit the upper part of his bat. It went high into the air instead of far, and Phil Salt at long-on took an easy catch. PBKS need 4 off 12 balls. 

Marcus Stoinis joined Nehal Wadhera at the crease.

Score: PBKS - 92/5 after 12 overs (Wadhera 33, Stoinis 1)

Chasing 96-run target in 14 overs, Punjab Kings have experienced a top-order collapse that put them under pressure as Josh Hazlewood picked two wickets of Shreyas Iyer (7) and Josh Inglis in the 8th over. PBKS need 43 off 36 balls to win. 

Shashank Singh joined Nehal Wadhera at the crease.

Score: PBKS - 53/4 after 8 overs (Wadhera 1, Shashank 0)

OUT! Josh Hazlewood bowled a short of a length delivery that bounced more than expected. Priyansh Arya (16) tried to hit it across the line but ended up top-edging it. The ball went high but didn’t travel far and was caught at mid-off. The extra bounce made it tough for the batter, and playing across the line didn’t help. PBKS need 63 off 60 balls to win. 

Josh Inglis joined Shreyas Iyer at the crease.

Score: PBKS - 33/2 after 4 overs (Shreyas 2, Inglis 1)

WICKET! Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowls a short-of-a-length ball outside off. After hitting two fours in a row, Prabhsimran (13) goes for another big shot. But he mistimes it, and the ball goes towards mid-off. Tim David moves to his right, keeps his eyes on the ball, and takes a comfortable catch. PBKS need 73 off 66 balls to win.

Shreyas Iyer joined Priyansh Arya at the crease. 

Score: PBKS - 23/1 after 3 overs (Priyansh 8, Shreyas 1)

After brilliant display of bowling Punjab Kings, with Yuzvendra Chahal, Marco Jansen, Harpreet Brar and Arshdeep Singh taking two wickets each to restrict Royal Challengers Bengaluru to 95/9, the visitors need 96 runs to win the match. Amid the shambolic batting, Tim David stood tall for RCB as his unbeaten 50 off 26 balls, helping the hosts inch closer to the 100-run mark.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru's shambolic continues as PBKS' Harpreet Brar picked two wickets of Bhuvneshwar Kumar (8) and Yash Dayal (0) in the 12 over. 

Josh Hazlewood joined Tim David at the crease. 

Score: RCB - 63/9 after 12 overs (David 19, Hazlewood 0)

WICKET! Marco Jansen bowled a full-length delivery to Manoj (1), which angled in and straightened enough to miss the inside edge. It then clipped the outside of the leg stump. UltraEdge confirmed this. Manoj's left leg was in the air when the ball hit the flap of his pad.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar joined Tim David at the crease.

Score: RCB - 43/7 after 9 overs (David 6, Bhuvneshwar 1)

WICKET! Yuzvendra Chahal bowled a well-flighted leg-spin, and Patidar (22) seemed to read it. He tried to hit the ball over cover, but he ended up hitting it straighter than he intended, right into Bartlett's hands at long-off.

Manoj Bhandage joined Tim David at the crease. 

Score: RCB - 42/6 after 8 overs (David 6, Bhandage 1)

WICKET! Marco Jansen bowled a short ball to Krunal, who got into a difficult position while trying to pull it. The ball touched the top edge of his bat, and UltraEdge confirmed it. As a result, RCB lost their 5th wicket.

Tim David joined Rajat Patidar at the crease. 

Score: RCB - 39/5 after 7 overs (Patidar 22, David 5)

WICKET! Marco Jansen tried to bowl googly, and Jitesh went for the sweep shot. However, he didn't find the gap and hit the ball in the air, towards deep backward square leg. Wadhera, who was running in from the deep, bent down and took a clean two-handed catch. 

Krunal Pandya joined Rajat Patidar at the crease. 

Score: RCB - 33/4 after 6 overs (Patidar 21, Krunal 1)

WICKET! Liam Livingstone (4) charged down the pitch but missed the ball completely. He went for a big shot, but got a thick top-edge, sending the ball high over cover. Priyansh ran back, kept his eyes on the ball, and safely caught it with a reverse cupped hand.

Jitesh Patidar joined Rajat Patidar at the crease. 

Score: RCB - 26/3 after 4 overs (Patidar 17, Jitesh 0)

WICKET! Arshdeep Singh bowled a cross-seam delivery, which was pushed wide to Virat Kohli. Kohli (1) went for a big pull shot, staying on the front foot, but didn't quite hit the ball in the middle of the bat. It looked like it could clear mid-on, but Jansen ran back, kept his eyes on the ball, caught it, and fell to the ground.

Liam Livingstone joined Rajat Patidar at the crease. 

Score: RCB - 21/2 after 3 overs (Patidar 16, Livingstone 0)

SIX! Xavier Bartlett bowled a delivery on a good length, angling into Patidar's pads. Patidar patiently let the ball come to him, then flicked it effortlessly with his wrist over mid-wicket for a six

Score: RCB - 19/1 after 2 overs (Patidar 15, Kohli 0)

WICKET! It wasn’t really short, but Salt (4) tried to pull it against Arshdeep’s angling delivery and ended up getting a big top-edge. The ball went high into the night sky. Mid-wicket came running in, but Josh Inglis called for it and took a safe catch.

Rajat Patidar joined Virat Kohli at the crease. 

Score: RCB - 9/1 after 1st over (Patidar 5, Kohli 0)

FOUR! A full delivery on middle stump, right in the slot, and Phil Salt smashes it straight back past Arshdeep Singh. Arshdeep doesn't have enough time to react and stop it.

The fans at M Chinnaswamy Stadium are much delighted as the match has begun after lengthy delay due to rain. 

Shreyas Iyer (PBKS): We will bowl first. It's a good ground to chase and it's a rain interrupted game, overs have been reduced, will have a fair idea of how the wickert will play and that was always the plan. Stoinis comes in for Maxwell and Harpreet Brar is in. We need to have the right players at the right place, especially the angles.

Rajat Patidar (RCB): We have to be smart in adapting to the conditions, we'll try our best. A bit sticky, but the surface looks hard, we will put up a good total on the board. Same team, but I'm confused with the impact player.

Punjab Kings: Priyansh Arya, Nehal Wadhera, Shreyas Iye r(C), Shashank Singh, Josh Inglis (WK), Marcus Stoinis, Marco Jansen, Harpreet Brar, Xavier Bartlett, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal

Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Philip Salt, Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar (C), Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Tim David, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Suyash Sharma, Yash Dayal

After a lengthy delay due to persistent drizzle in Bengaluru, the toss finally took place as Shreyas Iyer's Punjab Kings won it and decided to bowl first against Rajat Patidar-led Royal Challengers Bengaluru.

Toss is scheduled take place at 9:30 PM and the match will begin at 9:45 PM. The match is reduced to 14 overs per side due to length delay, thanks to rain.

After the covers on the pitch were removed, RCB and PBKS walked out to the ground and began to some warmup before the match begins. The toss is set to take place soon.

The covers are being removed from the ground, and the sub-air system will be used next to help dry it. The cover on the main pitch is also removed  The super sopper is also out, and things are looking good.

The toss must happen by 10:40 PM for at least a 5-over game for each side to be possible. That means there’s less than two hours left for the rain to stop, and for the ground to be dried and made ready for the match

It's almost 8:30 pm now and the match is yet to begin, with pitch is still under covers as the toss delayed further due to rain. The overs have started to lose as the rain-truncated fixture edges closer to a potential no-result if the weather doesn't improve soon. 

The full match of 20 overs each for Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Punjab Kings is unlikely take to play as the pitch is still under covers as the drizzle has not stopped at M Chinnaswamy. If the match has to take place, it will be with reduced overs as per the DLS guidelines, depending on when the rain stops and how quickly groundstaff can drain out the waters to get the field ready to play.

It's still drizzling. Some BCCI officials are standing near the boundary without umbrellas or jackets, showing how light the rain is. But the covers can't be removed until the rain fully stops

It's still raining, and everyone has to wait. A large crowd is already at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, but all they can do now is wait patiently for the rain to stop.

The fourth umpire is having a conversation with groundstaff with regards to start of the match as the pitch are covered with hover covers as drizzle continues in Bengaluru.

Virat Kohli has a great record against Punjab Kings in the IPL, with 1030 runs, including a century and 4 centuries, at an average of 35.51 in 32 matches.

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Josh Hazlewood: Three of our quick bowlers, they are a little bit different. No matter who takes the new ball, we have got a role to play. They are great swing bowlers upfront. They are wicket-takers and I try to do my thing. Powerplay has been the best part for us with the ball so far. It's going to interesting, it's raining at the moment. I know the outfield dries quickly here, so as soon as the rain stops, we can get on the field quickly. In a couple of games here, it's been a great learning curve for us. Some guys have played a lot of cricket here, some haven't played as much. We are always learning on the go. Got to hit the good length, hit the top of stump. Need to go full and swing the ball in the powerplay.

Bad news from M Chinnaswamy Stadium, there is a slight drizzle in Bengaluru, which delayed has delayed the toss as the ground staff have covered the pitch and surrounding areas

Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Punjab Kings are locking horns for the 34th in the IPL. In their last 33 encounters, PBKS emerged victorious on 17 occasions, while RCB won 16 matches. In IPL 2024, RCB won home and away matches against PBKS.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Philip Salt, Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar (C), Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma (W), Tim David, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Suyash Sharma, Yash Dayal, Devdutt Padikkal, Rasikh Dar Salam, Manoj Bhandage, Jacob Bethell, Swapnil Singh, Abhinandan Singh, Swastik Chikara, Mohit Rathee, Nuwan Thushara, Romario Shepherd, Lungi Ngidi

Punjab Kings: Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh (WK), Shreyas Iyer (C), Nehal Wadhera, Josh Inglis, Shashank Singh, Glenn Maxwell, Marco Jansen, Xavier Bartlett, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Suryansh Shedge, Yash Thakur, Harpreet Brar, Praveen Dubey, Pyla Avinash, Musheer Khan, Harnoor Singh, Kuldeep Sen, Azmatullah Omarzai, Aaron Hardie, Vishnu Vinod, Marcus Stoinis