Punjab Kings Still Have One More Chance to Reach the Final
Sports Desk
29 May
New Chandigarh/Mullanpur/ Ludhiana
Journalist Sandeep Dhand
The first qualifier match of IPL 2025 was played in Mullanpur, where Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) outplayed Punjab Kings (PBKS) and won the match by 8 wickets to book their place in the final. Despite the loss, Punjab still has one more chance to reach the final. They will face the winner of the second qualifier match between Gujarat Titans and Mumbai Indians, scheduled for Friday.
Punjab Kings batted first and were bowled out for just 101 runs in 14.1 overs. In reply, RCB chased down the target with ease, scoring 106 runs for the loss of just 2 wickets in 10 overs. Punjab’s batting collapsed against RCB bowlers Suyash Sharma, Jitesh Sharma, and Josh Hazlewood. Suyash Sharma was named Player of the Match for his brilliant spell, taking 3 wickets while giving away just 17 runs in 3 overs.
In RCB’s batting, Phil Salt remained unbeaten on 56 runs and captain Rajat Patidar scored 15 not out. Virat Kohli contributed 12 runs and Mayank Agarwal added 19 runs. It was a one-sided game dominated by Bangalore with both ball and bat, putting them straight into the IPL 2025 final.