RCB captain Rajat Patidar arrives for IPL 2025 Qualifier 1 match against PBKS in Mullanpur on Thursday (May 29). Photo: BCCI
PBKS vs RCB, Qualifier 1: Bengaluru win toss, opt to bowl
PBKS brought in Azmatullah Omarzai in place of Marco Jansen, while for RCB, Josh Hazlewood returned, replacing Nuwan Thushara
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) captain Rajat Patidar won the toss and opted to bowl against Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the Qualifier 1 match of IPL 2025 in Mullanpur on Thursday (May 29).
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The winner of this clash between the top two teams in the standings will gain a direct entry to the final on June 3. The loser will get another chance to make the title round as they face the winner of the Eliminator game between Gujarat Titans (GT) and Mumbai Indians (MI).
PBKS brought in Azmatullah Omarzai in place of Marco Jansen, while for RCB, Josh Hazlewood returned replacing Nuwan Thushara.
What captains said
“Would have bowled first as well. If you look at the record here, teams batting first have done well, so I am optimistic. They (fans) have been tremendous and you need such kind of vibration when you enter the ground and it gives us a lot of energy as well. The way they (openers) have been showing the fearless approach and the attitude has been brilliant,” said PBKS captain Shreyas Iyer at the toss.
Patidar, who is back leading RCB, said, “We will bowl first. Wicket looks very hard, decent covering of grass and will try to maximise the first few overs. Everyone gave more than 100 per cent in the last game, Jitesh Salt and Kohli they were tremendous. One change for us. Hazlewood comes in place of Thushara.”
Teams
Punjab Kings (PBKS): Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh, Josh Inglis (wicketkeeper), Shreyas Iyer (captain), Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Azmatullah Omarzai, Harpreet Brar, Kyle Jamieson, Arshdeep Singh.
Impact Subs: Vijaykumar Vyshak, Praveen Dubey, Suryansh Shedge, Musheer Khan, Xavier Bartlett.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB): Virat Kohli, Phil Salt, Rajat Patidar (captain), Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma (wicketkeeper), Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yash Dayal, Josh Hazlewood, Suyash Sharma.
Impact Subs: Mayank Agarwal, Rasikh Salam, Manoj Bhandage, Tim Seifert, Swapnil Singh.