It was a rain-derailed match which saw the RCB vs PBKS IPL 2025 showdown get reduced to 14 overs in each innings, on Friday. Eventually when the toss took place in Bengaluru, Shreyas Iyer opted to bowl. RCB had a disastrous batting collapse right from the start, losing opener Phil Salt (4) in the fourth delivery of the opening over.
With the arrival of skipper Rajat Patidar, it looked like a partnership with Virat Kohli would settle the tempo for RCB. But Arshdeep Singh struck again in the third over to remove Kohli (1) as RCB fell to 21/2 in 2.4 overs. Patidar failed to find any partnerships during his knock, and he too eventually lost his wicket in the eighth over, for 23 off 18 balls. Tim David (50*) remained unbeaten as RCB reached 95/9 in 14 overs.
Rajat Patidar fumes at Virat Kohli and Co.
Chasing 96 runs, PBKS eased to 98/5 in 12.1 overs, winning by five wickets. Speaking in the post-match ceremony, Patidar was left fuming at his side’s batting order and blamed them for the defeat.
Only Patidar and David got double-digit scores, as Salt, Kohli, Liam Livingstone (4), Jitesh Sharma (2), Krunal Pandya (1), Manoj Bhandage (1), Bhuvneshwar Kumar (8), Yash Dayal (0) were dismissed in single digits.
“Initially it was sticking, and was two-paced. But I think we could have done far better as a batting unit. Partnerships are important in batting. We have been losing wickets in intervals,” said Patidar, as he looked totally shellshocked with the manner of the defeat.
For PBKS in the run-chase, Nehal Wadhera was in hot form as he remained unbeaten with a knock of 33* runs off 19 balls and also hit the match-winning six. After the defeat, RCB are fourth in the IPL 2025 points table with four wins and three losses. Meanwhile, PBKS are second, with five victories and two defeats.
Aussie pacer Josh Hazlewood, in particular, will be disappointed with the defeat, as his bowling almost brought RCB back into the game. In three overs, he took three wickets and conceded 14 runs.
