Punjab Kings and Royal Challengers Bengaluru are in rare territory: a top-two finish and an appearance in Qualifier 1. Punjab Kings did it way back in 2014, the season before the IPL debut of their current skipper, Shreyas Iyer. Royal Challengers Bengaluru did it in 2016, a good five years before the IPL debut of the current skipper, Rajat Patidar. History matters, but it may not matter to the majority of players on both sides.
Let’s turn our focus to the present. Here are the key things to look out for in the Qualifier 1 match between Punjab Kings and Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the New PCA Stadium in Chandigarh.
The toss decision
Three matches, three wins—that’s the record of the teams batting first in night games at the New PCA Stadium in Chandigarh this season. On the other hand, Royal Challengers Bengaluru chased 228 with 8 balls to spare in their final league game against Lucknow Super Giants. Punjab Kings, too, pulled off a commanding chase against Mumbai Indians in their final league game.
Recent form vs. venue history: an intriguing decision awaits at the toss.
The Virat Kohli factor
Virat Kohli is the heart and soul of Royal Challengers Bengaluru. It’s the blatant truth. Let’s not talk about that and instead focus on his batting contributions. Kohli is RCB’s biggest match-winner, and his runs mirrored the team’s performance. Kohli has scored eight fifties in IPL 2025, and RCB ended up winning all eight games. He failed to cross fifty on five occasions, and the team lost four of those.
| Virat Kohli, IPL 2025 | Matches | Wins | Losses |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scores above 50 | 8 | 8 | 0 |
| Scores below 50 | 5 | 1 | 4 |
It’s not a mere coincidence. Kohli’s extended stay at the crease allows the likes of Tim David, Romario Shepherd, and Jitesh Sharma to come at the right time and smash from the word go.
Rajat Patidar’s contribution with the bat has come down in the second half of the season. Tim David is a doubtful starter. Mayank Agarwal is new to the setup. Virat Kohli’s steady presence is even more important in the most significant game of his team in nine years.
The Priyansh-Prabhsimran combo
The performance of Punjab Kings openers have a telling impact on the team’s fortunes, just like the positive correlation between Virat Kohli and RCB’s performance.
| Punjab Kings openers | Instances | Wins | Losses | No result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| One of them scoring 45 runs | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 |
| Neither of them scoring 45 runs | 7 | 3 | 4 | 0 |
Priyansh Arya strikes at 184 and Prabhsimran Singh strikes at 166 in IPL 2025. The longer they bat, the faster the runs come. It’s also the key reason for Punjab Kings scoring 200 or more on 8 occasions while batting first this season.
Returning players
Josh Hazlewood missed RCB’s last four games due to a shoulder issue, and yet, he is their leading wicket-taker of the season. It’s been 31 days since Hazlewood played a game. His return will significantly bolster the bowling attack, which leaked 227 against Lucknow Super Giants on Tuesday.
Yuzvendra Chahal, the all-time leading wicket-taker in IPL, missed Punjab Kings’ final two league matches due to a finger injury. RCB’s right-hander-heavy batting lineup will have an uphill challenge of facing the leg-spin of Chahal and the left-arm spin of Harpreet Brar.
Shreyas Iyer the batter and captain
The challenge of any IPL captain is to seamlessly integrate an inexperienced Indian player with an experienced international star. Shreyas Iyer‘s challenge was multifold. He has four uncapped Indian players in the batting lineup and a bunch of talented yet inexperienced international players.
Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh, Shashank Singh, and Nehal Wadhera are all having stellar seasons. Australia’s Xavier Bartlett and Josh Inglis are in their first IPL season. New Zealand’s Kyle Jamieson is playing in IPL after four years. Barring Marcus Stoinis, none of their overseas players are renowned names in the global T20 leagues.
None of those things mattered to the skipper, Shreyas Iyer. He led from the front, both as a batter and as a leader, and took his side to the top of the table. Punjab Kings may be in the uncharted territory called the IPL playoffs. But Shreyas isn’t. The defending champions usually host Qualifier 1. In a poetic twist, Shreyas Iyer gets to play the home game after leading Kolkata Knight Riders to glory in 2024.
He has one more challenge to navigate tonight. Assemble a bowling attack without Marco Jansen, who has left for South Africa to prepare for the World Test Championship final against Australia.
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