AI Simulation, RCB vs PBKS | Bengaluru juggernaut rolls to IPL 2025 final with record-breaking chase

‌Pitch & Weather

A fresh Mullanpur deck awaited the teams to signal the start of the IPL 2025 playoffs, with an uncharacteristic flat wicket on offer with the short square boundaries further enhancing the potential of a high-scoring game. The weather was clear and dry, and the lack of dew made it ideal for a fair post-season game with a berth in the final at stake.

Toss & Conditions

Royal Challengers Bengaluru won the toss and elected to bowl first.

Lineups

RCB: Phil Salt, Virat Kohli, Mayank Agarwal, Rajat Patidar (c), Jitesh Sharma (wk), Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Krunal Panyda, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yash Dayal, Josh Hazlewood, Suyash Sharma

PBKS: Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh, Josh Inglis (wk), Shreyas Iyer (c), Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Azmatullah Omarzai, Harpreet Brar, Kyle Jamieson, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh    

Match Report

There was little for the bowlers to celebrate in a high-scoring affair, indicators of which Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh gave right off the bat by giving Punjab Kings a blistering start. The former took the assault right to Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Yash Dayal, while Prabh was happy playing second fiddle and by the end of the powerplay, the score read a daunting 70/0. The first breakthrough arrived soon after when Krunal Pandya got rid of the wicket-keeper batter, putting a brake on the scoring alongwith Suyash Sharma for a brief while before the former doubled his tally with Josh Inglis' wicket. However, once Shreyas Iyer arrived to the crease, the tempo went through the roof again with the skipper playing some inspired shots against Suyash. Priyansh too soon brought up a 27-ball half-century after a brief lull but did not last long after the stand with Iyer surpassed 50. Nevertheless, with the support of cameos from Nehal Wadhera (21 off 12) and Shashank Singh (18 off 9), Iyer led the charge and finished with a boundary laden 64 in 36 deliveries to help set a mammoth target of 213.

In response, RCB began with some fireworks of their own as Phil Salt walked out with vengeance. The Englishman launched two maximums and struck six boundaries with ridiculous ease, making 34 of his 43 runs come off boundaries. Even after the opener holed out on the last ball of the powerplay, and Mayank Agarwal departed soon after with the score 98/2 after eight, Virat Kohli kept the pressure on the bowlers with some fluent stroke play. The presence of Rajat Patidar at the other end led to a quick half-century stand, yet wickets from Chahal and Harpreet Brar left two new batters Tim David and Jitesh Sharma at the crease with 59 required off the final five. Frequent boundaries from the finisher duo kept RCB in the hunt before three back-to-back maximums from David in the penultimate over practically sealed the result in dramatic fashion. The Aussie ended unbeaten on 38 off just 16 deliveries, while his Indian partner scored 21 off 11 to send RCB to the final.  

Player of the Day

Virat Kohli's unbelievable run of form while chasing in IPL 2025 continued as he scored a mind-boggling ninth half-century of the season, eight of them coming in chases, to anchor another successful win with his 43-ball 68. The effort unsurprisingly saw him end as the game's highest run-scorer and the deserving Man of the Match.  

Scorecard