Match 34 of the 2025 Indian Premier League season brings us a clash between the Royal Challengers Bengaluru and the Punjab Kings at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on April 18.
For the game, here are our preview and predictions.
The Kings will be high on confidence after stealing a record win at home from right under the noses of their captain’s former team.
PBKS are struggling with consistency. Their batting lineup, which started the season strongly, has flattered to deceive of late. In their recent two matches, against the Rajasthan Royals and the Kolkata Knight Riders, Punjab’s batting unit simply collapsed. That said, Priyansh Arya has been a revelation for them, while captain Shreyas Iyer has been at his attacking best with the bat and through his captaincy.
The PBKS bowlers finally delivered when they were needed the most, defending 111 against KKR as Yuzvendra Chahal spun the Kings back into the game. With Arshdeep Singh and Marco Jansen leading the pace attack, Chahal’s return to form has taken a huge burden off Iyer’s shoulders.
On the other hand, the hosts are slowly ticking off one box at a time. Phil Salt and Virat Kohli have formed a dangerous duo at the top of the RCB batting order, with Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar, Liam Livingstone, Tim David, and Krunal Pandya providing further form and depth.
In terms of bowling, Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been at his usual best with the new ball up front, being economical and among the wickets. Josh Hazlewood’s form has been a huge plus as well. The veteran Aussie is RCB’s leading wicket-taker this season (9), going at an economy of 8.65.
At the Chinnaswamy, we should be in for another high-scoring encounter. This season, there has been some assistance for the spinners as well at the venue. Given the depth in their bowling and batting lineups, we have RCB as our favourites for this one.
Fantasy XI: Phil Salt, Virat Kohli, Prabhsimran Singh, Shreyas Iyer, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Yash Dayal, Arshdeep Singh
Venue: M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru
Winners Prediction: Royal Challengers Bengaluru
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