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by Devesh Jaganath | in Indian Premier League Predictions
The 2025 Indian Premier League season has reached the Playoffs, and in Qualifier 1, the Punjab Kings will face the Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Thursday afternoon. PBKS and RCB ended the league phase in first and second, respectively, with 19 points apiece. Check out our match prediction below!
At long last, the Punjab Kings are back in the Playoffs. Indeed, Punjab fans have waited over a decade to see their team return to the knockout stages of the IPL, and this could be the year they claim their first title, having only ever reached the final once in the past (2014). The Royal Challengers are also gunning for their first IPL crown - they have ended as runners-up in three previous seasons (2009, 2011 and 2016).
Bookmakers have installed the men from Punjab as favourites in this contest, but only marginally, suggesting that a close contest is expected. Let’s get into the key stats at play in this one.
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Punjab Kings - Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Form Analysis
After years of disappointment, the Punjab Kings made major moves at the IPL mega auction and have easily been the most improved team in the Indian Premier League this season.
PBKS came through the league phase with a record of nine wins, four defeats and one no-result in their 14 matches, ending the group stage with the second-best net run rate of +0.372.
The Kings’ last match ended in a seven-wicket victory over the Mumbai Indians on Monday afternoon, which was their fourth win in the last five matches.
PBKS and RCB have faced off twice this season, and both teams won one game each!
Meanwhile, Royal Challengers’ fans are starting to believe that after years of assembling formidable teams but coming up short, this could finally be the season they get their hands on the title.
RCB produced an identical record to the Punjab Kings (W9, L4, 1NC) during the league phase, while their net run rate was marginally lower than the Kings’ at +0.301.
In their last match, the team from Bengaluru successfully chased down 227/3 by the Lucknow Super Giants, which was the third-highest run chase in this year’s competition.
These sides have met 35 times in the past, and PBKS hold the slenderest of advantages with 18 wins to RCB’s 17.
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Punjab Kings & Royal Challengers Bengaluru Squad Analysis
The Punjab Kings will have to make do without Marco Jansen for the remainder of the Playoffs, with the speedster set to join up with the South African national team for the WTC final on June 11.
Jansen’s absence will be a major blow for the Kings, as the Proteas’ fast bowler has notched up 16 wickets this season, including a best of 3/17.
As a result, Punjab will now have to rely on Arshdeep Singh to lead their bowling attack, and he has done a stellar job so far, claiming 18 scalps, which places him fifth in the Purple Cap standings.
Can Virat Kohli finally lead RCB to the IPL title?
Indeed, King Kohli has won pretty much every cricket title out there, but the IPL trophy is the one that has eluded him. He holds the record for the most runs in IPL history and is RCB’s leading run-scorer again this season, with 458 in 12 matches.
The Royal Challengers were also handed a major boost in the lead-up to this match, with Josh Hazlewood expected to return to the team for the knockout rounds.
The Aussie paceman returned to his homeland when the league was halted, but had racked up 18 wickets prior to departing. He currently sits fourth in the leading wicket-taker standings, six behind leader Noor Ahmad.
Punjab Kings - Royal Challengers Bengaluru Key Points
- Virat Kohli has scored 30+ runs in nine of his 12 innings this season.
- Virat Kohli has scored the most half-centuries in this season’s IPL (7).
- Virat Kohli has an all-time IPL batting average of 39.6.
- Virat Kohli scored 73* in his last match against the Punjab Kings.
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Our Punjab Kings vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru Prediction
The Punjab Kings have barely set a foot wrong this season, and we would certainly not talk anyone out of backing the Kings to progress to the final, given how they’ve performed leading up to the Playoffs.
However, it’s these types of stages where experience tends to shine, and there are few who have lit up the big stage more frequently than Virat Kohli. The Indian superstar has already delivered seven half-centuries this season, and we fancy him to produce another solid innings in this match. Our Punjab Kings vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru prediction is Virat Kohli over 32.5 runs.
Punjab Kings vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru - Other Interesting Predictions
Royal Challengers win the match
While these sides are 1-1 this season, the Royal Challengers Bengaluru have been more successful in recent times, winning four of the last five encounters over the past three seasons.
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Punjab Kings vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru match : Frequently asked questions
The Indian Premier League match between PBKS and RCB will be played on May 29 at 15:00 GMT.
The Indian Premier League match between PBKS and RCB will take place at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Punjab.
The Indian Premier League match between PBKS and RCB will be broadcast on Star Sports Network in India and Sky Sports in the UK.
All tips are fully researched and given in good faith, but profits cannot be guaranteed.
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