IPL 2025: RCB romp into first final since 2016 with record-breaking victory over PBKS in Qualifier 1
Phil Salt puts finishing touches on a polished RCB performance
After finishing in first and second place, respectively, during the group stage of the 2025 IPL, the Punjab Kings and Royal Challengers Bengaluru contested Qualifier 1 on Thursday, with the winner earning direct entry to the final on June 3.
Despite participating in every edition of the IPL since 2008, neither side has ever managed to win the competition, with the Kings only reaching the final once, while the Royal Challengers have finished as runners-up on three occasions.
Punjab entered Qualifier 1 as marginal favourites, having topped the league phase, but they suffered their worst collapse of the competition, as RCB’s bowling unit bundled them out for a mere 101 in 14.1 overs, which also confirmed one of our IPL predictions for this match.
After winning the toss and electing to bowl first, Yash Dayal picked up the wicket of Priyansh Arya with just his second ball before veteran paceman Bhuveneshwar Kumar knocked over Prabhsimran Singh for 18 runs the following over.
Alarm bells began sounding for the Kings as early as the fourth over, when Josh Hazlewood was introduced to the attack and claimed the prized scalp of Punjab skipper Shreyas Iyer for just two runs. The Aussie quick then followed up by dismissing Josh Inglis in his second over.
Punjab’s top four batsmen were all back in the pavilion for a combined total of just 31 runs. While Marcus Stoinis tried to stop the rot in the middle order, wickets continued to tumble around him with regularity and the Kings were eventually bowled out with 5.5 overs to spare.
During the chase, the Royal Challengers lost Virat Kohli early to Kyle Jamieson, and Mayank Agarwal fell to Musheer Khan for 19, but Phil Salt smashed 56 of 27 deliveries to get his side over the line in just 10 overs, securing their first final appearance since 2016.
The crucial Eliminator is on the cards on Friday afternoon at the New PCA Stadium, and our Gujarat Titans vs Mumbai Indians prediction for that match is online now, so be sure to check it out ahead of the toss.
RCB send IPL records tumbling in Qualifier 1
Not only did RCB produce one of their most dominant performances in the IPL in recent memory in Qualifier 1, but they also smashed several records and inflicted a few unwanted ones on the Punjab Kings too.
First off, RCB’s victory with 10 overs to spare (60 balls) is the biggest such win in the IPL Playoffs ever, surpassing the previous record held by the Kolkata Knight Riders, who beat the Sunrisers Hyderabad with 57 balls to spare in the 2024 final.
Next, Phil Salt brought up a significant personal milestone on Thursday, as he surpassed 1,000 IPL runs with his knock of 56. He reached the 1,000-run milestone in just 576 deliveries, making him the third-fastest to do so behind Andre Russell (545) and Travis Head (575).
The match between PBKS and RCB lasted just 145 balls in total before Rajat Patidar smoked the final delivery for six to win the game. This now stands as the joint-third shortest completed game in the history of the IPL.
PBKS’s 101-run total is now the joint-third-lowest by any team in the knockout rounds of the PL, only behind the Deccan Chargers' 82 against RCB in 2010 and the Delhi Daredevils’ 87 all out versus the Rajasthan Royals in 2008.
Finally, Suyash Sharma received the Player of the Match award for his sensational bowling performance of 3/17 in just three overs. He became the ninth RCB player to win the Player of the Match award this year - only the Mumbai Indians have had more players win this award in a single season (10).
