3 player battles to watch out for in PBKS vs RCB, Qualifier 1 of IPL 2025 ft. Virat Kohli

Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) will face off in the high-intensity Qualifier 1 contest of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 in a quest for the elusive silverware. The two sides will square off at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur, Chandigarh, on Thursday, May 29, with the winner sealing a direct spot in the final.

Both teams are in top form, having won their most recent outing in the tournament. While Punjab beat Mumbai Indians (MI) to seal a spot in Qualifier 1 (Q1) and send the latter into the Eliminator contest, RCB beat Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in the last league stage game to finish second in the points table and confirm their place in Q1 against PBKS.

Both teams are looking to get their hands on their first-ever IPL trophy, and will be pumped up heading into the upcoming encounter.

That said, here’s looking at three player battles to watch out for in the Qualifier 1 encounter between PBKS and RCB:

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#3 Shreyas Iyer vs Krunal Pandya

PBKS’ top-order batters are in top form, and Shreyas Iyer is likely to bat at No.4. With the openers usually taking their innings deep and Iyer usually walking out to bat in the middle or death overs, he is likely to face the spin of Krunal Pandya.

The RCB all-rounder has conceded 43 runs off 51 deliveries against Iyer in 10 T20 innings while dismissing him once in these outings. Iyer’s strike rate hasn’t been that good against Pandya, and the PBKS skipper has not hit a single six off him. Hence, this will be a battle worth looking out for.

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#2 Josh Inglis vs Josh Hazlewood

Josh Inglis, playing his first season for PBKS at IPL 2025, played a magnificent knock of 73 runs off 42 deliveries while carrying the team to a victory against MI in their most recent outing. He was rightfully adjudged the player of the match and will be the top pick among batters, given his current form.

Josh Hazlewood, meanwhile, will likely return to RCB’s XI after missing out on a couple of games. Having missed game time and making his way into a high-intensity clash, it’ll be interesting to see if the Australian pacer continues his form or struggles against the hard-hitting Inglis.

Hazlewood has met his Aussie counterpart once in T20s before and also managed to dismiss him inside the four deliveries bowled.

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#1 Virat Kohli vs Arshdeep Singh

Virat Kohli will be geared up to face PBKS in the forthcoming encounter. In his 18th year with the franchise, Kohli looks determined to help the team break the trophy curse. His form with the bat indicates the same, and he’ll be the one batter to look out for.

With the former RCB skipper opening the batting, up against him will be PBKS’ ace pacer Arshdeep Singh, who knows Kohli’s game pretty well, having played with him, for the national team, and against him, in the IPL, over the years.

The two have faced off in nine innings, and the veteran batter has scored 93 runs off 51 deliveries against Arshdeep, who has, in turn, dismissed Kohli twice in these outings. Kohli’s strike rate against the PBKS pace sensation reads 182.35, indicating his dominance against the latter.