“Ee Sala Cup Namde”! This is a slogan which revolves around the internet -every time -during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. And this time, it well might come true. Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) have advanced to the finals of IPL 2025.
RCB steamrolled past table-toppers Punjab Kings (PBKS) in a one-sided contest at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Tira, Punjab. Rajat Patidar and co. made a strong statement ahead of the finals.
Shreyas Iyer’s Punjab Kings (PBKS) have another shot at glory! They now will be facing the winner of the Eliminator of IPL 2025. Gujarat Titans (GT) and Mumbai Indians (MI) will be crossing swords with each other on 30th May 2025 at the same venue as Qualifier 1.
Punjab Kings’ horror show in the 1st innings
Punjab Kings had a horror 1st innings against RCB. On a pitch that had seam movement, their inexperienced batting card folded pretty quickly. RCB’s bowlers were right on the money and they put up a show in Punjab.
Josh Hazlewood, who has been the knight in shining armour for RCB in IPL 2025, performed exceedingly well and bagged 3 wickets upfront. Suyash Sharma, who was brought on after the 9th over, made an instant impact and crippled PBKS’ middle-order.
His scalps included Marcus Stoinis, Shashank Singh and Impact Player, Musheer Khan. Khan, had a forgettable outing as he was dismissed for a three-ball duck on his IPL debut.
Punjab Kings got skittled out for a paltry total of 101 runs in just 14.1 overs. It was one-sided traffic in this venue. It was Punjab’s lowest total in this season.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru cruise towards the final
It was a walk in the park for batting-heavy RCB as they chased down the total in just 10 overs. Phil Salt top-scored with a classy knock of 56* runs in just 27 balls. His knock was packed with 6 fours and 3 sixes. He had a stellar strike-rate of 207.41.
RCB now have advanced to the finals of IPL 2025 after making a mockery of Punjab Kings in their own backyard. They now wait patiently for the next 2 playoff matches to unfold – Eliminator and Qualifier 2.
