RCB return home aiming to avoid a hat-trick of defeats
RCB and PBKS are third and fourth on the points table, with four wins from six games
Shashank Kishore
17-Apr-2025
Big Picture: RCB yet to win at home in IPL 2025
RCB aren't enjoying home comforts yet in IPL 2025. They have won all four of their away games, and so they say they aren't concerned by the twin defeats at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. They now must beat one of the season's most explosive powerplay units to prevent a two-match coincidence - in Rajat Patidar's words - from turning into a three-match trend.
There was a pattern in both those home defeats though. RCB lost the tosses and were sent into bat - scoring 169 for 8 and 163 for 7 - on sluggish pitches that got better for the chasing side because of the dew in Bengaluru. In their previous home game against Delhi Capitals, Phil Salt's explosive start - RCB raced to 50 in three overs - was a tactical move to maximise scoring against the new ball on a slow pitch.
Apart from their batters, the RCB pace attack has also found life hard at the Chinnaswamy. Josh Hazlewood's good overall numbers - nine wickets, economy 8.65 - could have been excellent had he fared better at home: one wicket and an economy of 12.1.
RCB's opponents Punjab Kings have immense firepower at the top. Priyansh Arya (216) and Shreyas Iyer (205) have the highest and third highest strike rates among batters to have faced at least 50 balls this season.
PBKS have come to Bengaluru riding the high of a sensational victory, having pulled off the lowest successful defence in the IPL against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) two nights ago. The Player of the Match in that win was Yuzvendra Chahal, who revived his season with a four-wicket haul. Having played eight seasons for RCB, Chahal remains the highest IPL wicket-taker at this venue.
RCB and PBKS are currently third and fourth in the league, and the winner will move up to ten points - level with Delhi Capitals at the top - before their play each other again on Sunday afternoon in New Chandigarh.
Form guide
Royal Challengers Bengaluru WLWLW (last five results, most recent first)
Punjab Kings WLWLW
New loyalties
Former RCB players Glenn Maxwell and Vyshak Vijaykumar are now with PBKS, while Jitesh Sharma is now with RCB.
Team news and likely XII
RCB are likely to remain unchanged after their nine-wicket victory against Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur.
RCB (probable): 1 Phil Salt, 2 Virat Kohli, 3 Devdutt Padikkal, 4 Rajat Patidar (capt), 5 Liam Livingstone, 6 Jitesh Sharma (wk), 7 Tim David, 8 Krunal Pandya, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Josh Hazlewood, 11 Yash Dayal, 12 Suyash Sharma
PBKS coach Ricky Ponting said Josh Inglis played the previous game against KKR instead of Marcus Stoinis because he was strong against spin. If Inglis retains his spot, PBKS will have to choose between the out-of-form Maxwell and Stoinis.
PBKS (probable): 1 Priyansh Arya, 2 Prabhsiman Singh, 3 Shreyas Iyer (capt), 4 Josh Inglis (wk), 5 Nehal Wadhera, 6 Glenn Maxwell/Marcus Stoinis, 7 Shashank Singh, 8 Marco Jansen 9 Yuzvendra Chahal, 10 Xavier Bartlett, 11 Arshdeep Singh, 12 Suryansh Shedge
In the spotlight - Padikkal and Maxwell
Devdutt Padikkal's form at home (scores of 1 and 4) reflects RCB's struggles. Back at RCB after spending 2024 at Lucknow Super Giants and now settled at No. 3, Padikkal is benefitting from role clarity and off-season work on his T20 game. He's made 10, 27, 37 and 40 not out away from home this season.
Maxwell's reunion with Ponting hasn't gone as planned for PBKS. He's scored 41 runs off 41 balls in five innings this season, with a high-score of 30, a continuation of his abysmal batting form in IPL 2024, when he made 52 off 43 balls across nine innings and was subsequently released by RCB. While he's been dismissed by spinners in four out of five innings this year, his own offspin has been valuable for PBKS: four wickets and an economy of 8.46.
The big question
Is it time for PBKS to drop Maxwell?
4.8K votesYes, bring in Stoinis
No, give him more time
Pitch and conditions
The Chinnaswamy Stadium isn't the bowlers graveyard it used to be this season. The pitches used so far have been two-paced and RCB haven't been able to exceed 170 while batting first in both games. The curator attributes the slowness to high heat and low humidity, though recent rain and cooler evenings may change that a bit.
Stats and trivia
- Chahal's 52 wickets are the most in the IPL at the Chinnaswamy.
- PBKS have the best run rate (11) in the powerplay this season. RCB (10.4) are second.
- Arshdeep Singh dismissed Phil Salt twice in the recent T20I series between India and England in January
- Hazlewood (5.4) and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (6.2) lead powerplay economy rates this season, helping RCB record the best dot-ball percentage at 50.9% in this phase
Quotes
"Actually I haven't used it. I forgot that I can use saliva. When I saw Starc yesterday, it came to my mind that I can use it. I'm not sure if it will help or not, but now that I remember I'll definitely use in the next match."
RCB pace bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar
RCB pace bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar
"It's about clearing the head and executing. You've got to be brave to go deep in this tournament and that's the mindset we want the players to have all the time."
PBKS assistant coach Brad Haddin
PBKS assistant coach Brad Haddin
Shashank Kishore is a senior correspondent at ESPNcricinfo