Punjab Kings will bat first after RCB replaced the captain, Hazelwood returned, and Chahal was dropped
IPL 2025 Punjab Kings vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru Update: Royal Challengers Bangalore won the toss and decided to bowl first at the cricket stadium in Mullanpur, New Chandigarh. The team that wins this match will reach the final directly.

The opening qualifier of IPL 2025 has begun. Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) are confronting each other. Both sides are looking to make it to the finals. Challengers Bangalore captain Rajat Patidar has won the toss and has opted to bowl first. Punjab Kings did a major switch for this game and restored the captaincy to Rajat Patidar, who was not in the playing 11 for the last two matches.
There is tough competition between the two teams in the IPL. So far, PBKS has won 18 out of the 35 total matches played between the two sides, while the Bangalore team has won 17. But if we discuss 2023, the Bangalore team has won four of the total five matches played between the two sides. The most fascinating facts are that both sides have 19-19 points on the board with 14-14 matches played this season. Both have lost one game each due to rain. There is little contrast in the net run rate of both sides.
Punjab Kings Playing 11: Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh, Josh Inglis (wicketkeeper), Shreyas Iyer (captain), Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Azmatullah Umarzai, Harpreet Brar, Arshdeep Singh, and Kyle Jamieson.
Impact Options: Vijaykumar Vaishyak, Praveen Dubey, Suryansh Shedge, Mushir Khan, and Xavier Bartlett.
Royal Challengers Bangalore Playing 11: Virat Kohli, Philip Salt, Rajat Patidar (captain), Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma (wicketkeeper), Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yash Dayal, Josh Hazlewood, and Suyash Sharma.
Impact Options: Mayank Agarwal, Rasikh Salam, Manoj Bhandaage, Tim Seifert, and Swapnil Singh.