Punjab Kings have four wins in last five games. They won their last match against Mumbai Indians in Jaipur to take the top spot in the points table. Josh Inglis played a tremendous innings of 73 runs off 42 balls. While Priyansh Arya also scored 62 runs off 35 balls.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru are back on winning track in the last match after a no result and a loss in the games before. They have three wins in the last five games. In the last match they defeated Lucknow Super Giants. RCB chased down 227 runs in just 18.4 overs. Stand-in captain Jitesh Sharma played a one of its kind innings of 85 off 33 balls to take the team over the line.
The pitch of Maharaja Yadavindra Singh Stadium in Mullanpur is usually considered to be batting-friendly where runs are scored but spinners also get some advantage. So far 9 matches have been played here in which the team batting first has won 5 times.
The average score of the first innings is 170. In the first two matches of this season, scores of 200+ were made but in the last match PBKS defended only 111, which shows that the pitch can be unpredictable. Overall, it is good for batting but spinners can slow down the game in the middle of the match.
The equation between PBKS and RCB has always been close. 35 head-to-head matches have been played in which Punjab won 18 and RCB won 17. In 2025, both won one match each. Once even after Tim David's fifty, Punjab chased in a 14 over match. In the second match, Kohli and Padikkal took revenge for the first loss in the home ground.
Priyansh Arya, Josh Inglis(wk), Shreyas Ilyer (c), Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Azmatullah Omarzai, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kyle Jamieson, Vyshak Vijaykumar, Arshdeep Singh
Impact Players: Prabhsimran Singh, Praveen Dubey, Suryansh Shedge, Xavier Bartlet, Musheer Khan
Injury Update: None
Philip Salt, Virat Kohli, Mayank Agarawal, Liam Livingstone/Tim David, Jitesh Sharma(w/c), Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yash Dayal, Nuwan Thushara/ Josh Hazlewood, Suyash Sharma
Impact Players: Rajat Patidar, Rasikh Salam, Manoj Bhandage, Tim Seifert, Swapnil Singh.
Injury Updates: None
Shreyas Iyer has scored just 9 runs from 19 balls against Josh Hazlewood. He got out 3 times and hasn’t hit any boundaries. This was an exciting battle to watch Hazlewood dismiss Iyer after giving just two runs in four balls in a match this season.
Prabhsimran has scored 59 runs in 36 balls and got out 4 times. He faced 16 dots, hit 10 fours and 1 six. His strike rate is 163.9 and average is 14.8.
Salt has scored 12 runs in 16 balls and got out 2 times. He played 10 dots, hit 2 fours and no sixes. His strike rate is 75.0 and average is 6.0.
Shreyas Iyer (PBKS) has shown amazing performance in the middle overs. He has scored 514 runs in this IPL and his average is above 51. His innings of 53 against DC in Jaipur and 72 against CSK showed that he remains cool under pressure. His shot selection and calmness have become the biggest strength of PBKS' middle order. His batting is worth watching when he dances against spin.
Arshdeep Singh (PBKS) has taken 18 wickets in 14 matches. His yorkers and variations in the death overs turned matches for PBKS. His spell of 3/16 against Lucknow in Dharamsala is remembered by everyone. He took 2 wickets against MI on the Jaipur pitch as well. He becomes even more deadly when the ball swings.
Virat Kohli (RCB) has scored runs in almost every match this season. So far he has scored 602 runs with an average of 60 and a strike rate of 147. In many matches he has handled RCB's innings after fifty runs. Whenever the team needs a start, Virat handles it. His recent form is also strong like 54 against Lucknow, 43 against Hyderabad and 62 against CSK. When he stands at the crease, the fielders just keep picking the ball.
Phil Salt (RCB) has scored 331 runs in this IPL with a strike rate of 171. He played an attacking innings of 62 runs against Hyderabad where he made full use of the powerplay. His fearless approach gives a new boost to the top order of RCB. Whenever he bats, the ball is always outside the boundary.
Nehal Wadhera (PBKS) has scored 298 runs coming in the lower order. He has an average of 33 and his 70-run knock against RR in Jaipur was the most impactful. When the team is collapsing, Nehal calmly rebuilds. There is a balance in his batting – patience as well as power.
Mayank Agarwal (RCB) has shown his impact in limited matches. He finished and handled the anchoring knock of 41* against Lucknow. His domestic form was also solid where he scored 90+ runs and played a double innings of 6 runs in first-class cricket. When he is given time, he is a master in building an innings.
Kyle Jamieson’s recent form is not good and he is also coming off a bad season in Pakistan in the PSL. His last best performance was against Pakistan in the five match T20 series between New Zealand and Pakistan. He took three wickets in that match but that was in New Zealand’s conditions. Indian conditions will not support Jamieson. You can avoid him in your dream11 team.
Liam Livingston has had the worst IPL career this season with Royal Challengers Bengaluru. He has scored a total of 87 runs in eight matches with a highest of 54. He holds an average of 14.50 which is below the par and standards of a batting all-rounder in IPL. He can be replaced by Tim David in this match so avoid Liam in your dream11 teams.
Keeper: Phil Salt, Prabsimran Singh, Josh Inglis
Batters: Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Rajat Patidar, Priyansh Arya
All-rounders: Krunal Pandya
Bowlers: Arshdeep Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Vyshak Vijaykumar
Keeper: Josh Inglis
Batters: Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Rajat Patidar, Priyansh Arya, Mayank Agarwal
All-rounders: Marcus Stoinis
Bowlers: Arshdeep Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Vyshak Vijaykumar, Josh Hazlewood
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