PBKS vs RR Match 18 IPL 2025 Live Coverage: Punjab Kings vs Rajasthan Royals Timeline, Analysis, Cricket Tips and Ball by Ball Prediction

11:16 PM: RR win by 50 runs
 

Rajasthan Royals registered their second win on the trot. Punjab Kings playing their first game at home was handed their first loss of the season. 

11:02 PM: Time to damage control for PBKS

Punjab Kings are at 145/7 after 18 overs. Need 61 runs in 12 balls. Shashank: 5* (5), Arshdeep: 0* (2)

With 61 runs needed off the last two overs, the first priority for Shashank Singh would be to score as many runs as possible to reduce the margin of loss. 

10:46 PM: RR picks two in two
 

Punjab Kings are at 131/6 after 15.1 overs. Need 75 runs in 29 balls. 
 

One wicket brings another is a cliche because it often holds true. Maheesh Theekshana dismissed Glenn Maxwell on the final delivery of the 15th over. His countryman, Wanindu Hasaranga dismissed Nehal Wadhera on the first ball of the 16th over. With both set batters back in the hut, PBKS would need another special knock from Shashank Singh.

10:43 PM: Maxwell gone!
 

Punjab Kings are at 131/5 after 15 overs. Need 75 runs in 30 balls. Wadhera: 62* (40)
 

With the wicket of Glenn Maxwell, Punjab Kings’ hopes of winning this clash have also taken a serious hit. 

10:34 PM: Yudhvir bowls an expensive over
 

Punjab Kings are at 110/4 after 13 overs. Need 96 runs in 42 balls. Wadhera: 43* (30), Maxwell: 29* (19)
 

Yudhvir Singh Charak came on to bowl his second over of the match. The young Indian pacer bowled three wides as he was put under the pump. The over went for 15 runs in the over. 

10:17 PM: Maxwell gets going
 

Punjab Kings are at 78/4 after 10 overs. Need 128 runs in 60 balls. Wadhera: 29* (22), Maxwell: 14* (9)
 

Glenn Maxwell struck his first six of the innings on the second ball of the 10th over. It was a huge 84-metre six against a pretty good delivery. He then played a guiding shot fetching him another four. 

10:12 PM: Asking rate continues to climb

Punjab Kings are at 59/4 after 9 overs. Need 147 runs in 66 balls. Wadhera: 21* (19), Maxwell: 3* (6)
 

Punjab Kings find themselves in a precarious situation in their first game at home. The Shreyas Iyer-led side has barely scored at six runs per over for the first nine overs. With the asking rate crossing 13 runs per over, the hosts would need Glenn Maxwell to play a ‘Big Show’ knock.

10:07 PM: Another quiet over for RR
 

Punjab Kings are at 49/4 after 8 overs. Need 157 runs in 72 balls. Wadhera: 14* (15), Maxwell: 1* (4)
 

Jofra Archer bowls another over of extreme pace. As soon as Glenn Maxwell came to the crease, Sanju Samson went back to his fastest bowler. The Enlgish pacer bowled his third over and went for only five runs. 

10:02 PM: Kumar Kartikeya makes an immediate impact

Punjab Kings are at 45/4 after 7 overs. Need 161 runs in 13 overs. Wadhera: 9* (10), Maxwell: 1* (3)

Kumar Kartikeya came in the second innings as an impact sub. The left-arm wrist-spinner bowling just his second delivery in the match dismissed Prabshimran Singh. It will be a tough ask for PBKS to make a game out of this chase now. However, if there is one player who can still turn this around in is Glenn Maxwell. 

9:57 PM: RR control the powerplay

Punjab Kings are at 43/3 after 6 overs. Need 163 runs in 14 overs. Prabhsimran: 17* (14), Wadhera: 8* (9)
 

Rajasthan Royals have bossed both powerplays of the match. In the first innings, it was the opening duo of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sanju Samson who provided the visitors a great start. In the second innings, their pacers led by Jofra Archer made a huge dent in PBKS top-order. 

9:48 PM: Third wicket falls for the hosts

Punjab Kings are at 31/3 after 4 overs. Need 175 runs in 16 overs. Prabhsimran: 13* (10), Wadhera: 1* (1)
 

Marcus Stoinis is third PBKS batter to be dismissed. The Australian batter never got going in the innings and scored only one run in the first six balls he faced. Sandeep Sharma bowling his first over dismissed him on the third ball of the fourth over. Prabhsimran on the non-striker end has watched three of teammates fall to the RR pacers.

PBKS playing their first game at home have been well and truly rattled. 

9:42 PM: Jofra too hot to handle!
 

Punjab Kings are at 25/2 after 3 overs. Need 181 runs in 17 overs. Prabhsimran: 8* (7), Stoinis: 1* (5)
 

Jofra Archer is bowling with some heat. After a couple of disappointing matches to start off the season, the Englishman is back to his best. He bowling at great speeds and consistently breaking the 145 kmph barrier. 

9:38 PM: RR right on top of PBKS
 

Punjab Kings are at 16/2 after 2 overs. Need 190 runs in 18 overs. Prabhsimran: 5* (4), Stoinis: 0* (2)
 

Rajasthan Royals have started the second innings with great intent. After Jofra Archer picked up two wickets in the first over, Yudhvir Singh Charak followed it up with a great over. The Indian pacer went for only five runs in his first over. 

9:33 PM: Jofra goes bang bang in the first over!
 

Punjab Kings are at 11/2 after 1 over. Need 195 runs in 19 overs. Prabhsimran: 0* (0)
 

Jofra Archer rattled Priyansh Arya’s stumps on the first ball of the second innings. On the last ball of the over he dismissed Shreyas Iyer to push the hosts on the backfoot. 
 

It was a first-ball duck for the young PBKS opening batter. Shreyas Iyer coming to the crease did not show any signs of being bogged down by the early dismissal. The PBKS skipper, smashed a couple of fours to kickstart his innings before his dismissal. 

9:12 PM: PBKS needs 206 runs to win

Punjab Kings would have to record the highest run chase at the Maharaja Yadavindra Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur to win against Rajasthan Royals. The Shreyas Iyer-led side could not make the most of winning the toss. The second innings could prove to be the biggest challenge Punjab Kings would have faced in this season so far.

8:55 PM: RR sets up for a big score
 

Rajasthan Royals are at 160/3 after 17 overs. Parag: 20* (18), Hetmyer: 12* (6)
 

Shimron Hetmyer and Riyan Parag have not faced enough balls to settle into their innings. With three overs remaining they will be targeting a score of 200.

8:43 PM: Jansen picks up his first wicket
 

Rajasthan Royals are at 142/2 after 15 overs. Parag: 12* (10), Hetmyer: 4* (2)

Marco Jansen came to the attack to bowl his third over. The South African pacer used his international experience to outfox the RR batters. Both Nitish Rana and Riyan Parag struggled to hit the left-arm pacer away for boundaries before Nitish was dismissed on the fourth ball of the over.  

8:35 PM: Ferguson picks up the second wicket
 

Rajasthan Royals are at 135/2 after 14 overs. Parag: 11* (9), Rana: 11* (4)
 

Lockie Ferguson has now dismissed Sanju Samson with a pace-on delivery and his opening partner, Yashasvi Jaiswal with the slower ball. The Kiwi pacer has picked up both of the RR wickets so far in the innings. After a great start, the fall of two wickets would push the visitors to the back foot. 

8:25 PM: Yashasvi Jaiswal completes his fifty 
 

Rajasthan Royals are at 105/1 after 12 overs. Jaiswal: 56* (41), Parag: 4* (5) 
 

Yashasvi Jaiswal struck a four and a six to complete Yuzvendra Chahal’s third over. He reached his first half-century of the season as well in the process. 

8:20 PM: Lockie Ferguson breaks the opening partnership 
 

Rajasthan Royals are at 92/1 after 11 overs. Jaiswal: 45* (38), Parag: 2* (2) 
 

Rajasthan Royals captain, Sanju Samson was the first wicket to fall after making 38 runs. Lockie Ferguson came to bowl his second over of the match and used his extreme pace to beat the Indian batter for timing. The delivery was bowled at a speed of 144.2 kmph. Riyan Parag after batting at number four in the previous game against Chennai Super Kings came to bat at the fall of first wicket.

8:15 PM: A steady start for Royals at the halfway stage
 

Rajasthan Royals are at 85/0 after 10 overs. Jaiswal: 44* (36), Samson: 34* (24) 
 

Rjaashtan Royals have slowed down a little after the powerplay. However, with all 10 wickets in the hand for the visitors they will be able to accelerate in the fag-end of the innings.

7:59 PM: An expensive start for Yuzvendra Chahal

Rajasthan Royals are at 62/0 after 7 overs. Jaiswal: 35* (25), Samson: 26* (17) 

Yuzvendra Chahal playing against his former franchise started on an expensive note. Bowling his first over, the right-arm leg-spinner was struck for a four by Sanju Samson on his second delivery. 

7:52 PM: Great signs for the Royals
 

Rajasthan Royals are at 47/0 after 5 overs. Jaiswal: 31* (21), Samson: 15* (9) 
 

Rajasthan Royals for the first time this season has had a decent opening partnership. The return of Sanju Samson as the captain has seemed to have brought some good fortunes for the two opening batters. Yashasvi Jaiswal in his short stay so far has smashed three sixes. 

7:35 PM: Skipper, Sanju Samson gets going in the first over
 

Rajasthan Royals are at 10/0 after 1 over. Jaiswal: 2* (3), Samson: 7* (3) 
 

Sanju Samson will be leading the Rajasthan Royals for the first time this season. He has started on a positive note by smashing a four against Arshdeep Singh in the first over.

7:01 PM: PBKS vs RR Toss Update
 

PBKS won the toss and elected to bowl first at the Maharaja Yadavindra Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur. 

PBKS Playing XI
 

Prabhsimran Singh, Shreyas Iyer (C), Nehal Wadhera, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Shashank Singh, Suryansh Shegde, Marco Jansen, Lockie Ferguson, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal

RR Playing XI
 

Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson (C), Nitish Rana, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Wanindu Hasaranga, Jofra Archer, Maheesh Theekshana, Yudhvir Singh Charak, Sandeep Sharma