Royal Challengers Bengaluru won the toss and chose to bowl first against Punjab Kings in Match 37 of the Indian Premier League 2025 at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium on Sunday. This match comes just two days after the two sides clashed in Bengaluru, where Punjab Kings defeated RCB in a rain-shortened contest. RCB managed only 95 in 14 overs during that game and will now look to bounce back.
Speaking at the toss, RCB captain Rajat Patidar said his team is focused on learning from their mistakes. “We're going to bowl first. Wicket looks decent, won't change much. Batting second will give more clarity about the game and the wicket. We're not looking at venues, just trying to play good cricket. Shepherd comes in for Livi,” he said.
PBKS skipper Shreyas Iyer remained confident about his side’s form. “We also wanted to bowl. At the end of the day you always have to adapt according to the situation. Important to give ourselves some time, see how the ball is moving. It's the first afternoon game for us. Hopefully we get a good total on the board. The support we got, especially in the last game in this stadium, was outstanding. Same team,” Iyer said.
Punjab Kings are currently second on the points table behind Delhi Capitals due to net run rate. A win would take them to the top with a clear two-point lead. RCB are in fourth place and hope to stay in playoff contention with a strong performance.
Playing XIs:
Punjab Kings: Prabhsimran Singh, Priyansh Arya, Shreyas Iyer (captain), Josh Inglis (wicketkeeper), Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Marco Jansen, Xavier Bartlett, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Philip Salt, Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar (captain), Jitesh Sharma (wicketkeeper), Tim David, Krunal Pandya, Romario Shepherd, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Suyash Sharma, Josh Hazlewood, Yash Dayal.
Impact Substitutes:
Punjab Kings: Harpreet Brar, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Suryansh Shedge, Glenn Maxwell, Praveen Dubey.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Devdutt Padikkal, Rasikh Dar Salam, Manoj Bhandage, Jacob Bethell, Swapnil Singh.