The Mullapur cricket stadium witnessed a dominated performance by Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) as they crushed Punjab Kings by 8 wickets in the first qualifier of IPL 2025. Shreyas Iyer’s team was bowled out for a mere 101 runs, with their batting lineup failing to impress. RCB, on the other hand, had no trouble chasing down the target.
RCB won the toss and opted to bowl first. By the end of the powerplay, Punjab Kings had already lost 4 wickets at a score of 38. Their woes continued as they lost half their team by the time they reached 50 runs. Key players like Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh, and Shreyas Iyer fell cheaply. Even the hero of their previous match, Josh Inglis, couldn’t rescue them, getting caught out by Josh Hazlewood, who picked up 3 wickets in total. The only notable performance came from Stoinis, who scored 26 runs before eventually falling to pressure.
Former cricketer Sunil Gavaskar was scathing in his criticism of Punjab Kings’ batting. “This is like committing suicide,” he remarked during commentary, questioning their shot selection. He particularly targeted Shreyas Iyer, saying, “This is not a good shot selection… It’s a wild swing.” With this victory, RCB sealed their spot in the IPL final for the fourth time, having lost on all previous occasions. Punjab Kings, on the other hand, will get another chance to make it to the final when they face the winner of the eliminator in the second qualifier on June 1 in Ahmedabad.