Royal Challengers Bangalore faced Punjab Kings in the 37th match of IPL 2025. RCB captain Rajat Patidar won the toss and decided to bowl first. Punjab team got a good start, but the middle order of the team faltered once again. At one time Punjab had not lost any wicket for 42 runs, but after that the team's score became three wickets for 68 runs. Captain Shreyas Iyer failed for the third consecutive match. At the same time, his bat is still silent on the home ground in Mullanpur. Krunal Pandya again bowled brilliantly and managed to get wickets for his team.

Punjab's middle order falters

Punjab team got off to a good start by batting first. Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh played an opening partnership of 42 runs in 26 balls. Krunal got Priyansh caught by Tim David in the fifth over. Then he got Prabhsimran Singh caught by David in the seventh over. Priyansh could score 22 runs in 15 balls with the help of three fours and a six and Prabhsimran could score 33 runs in 17 balls with the help of five fours and a six. After this Shreyas got out after playing a bad shot. He got caught by Krunal on the ball of Romario Shepherd. Shreyas could score six runs in 10 balls. He could not touch the double digit figure for the third consecutive match. Earlier, he could not open his account against Kolkata. At the same time, he could score only seven runs in the last match against Bengaluru.

Shreyas's bat has not worked in Mullanpur

Shreyas's bat has not scored any runs in Mullanpur. He has been able to score 25 runs in four innings in this season's IPL. He has touched the double digit figure only once in this. He was able to score 10 runs against Rajasthan here on April 5. After this, he could score only nine runs against Chennai on April 8, while he could not open his account against Kolkata on April 15. Now he could score only six runs. On the other hand, Shreyas, on the contrary, has scored 50+ in three out of four innings in away matches this season outside Mullanpur. Shreyas's bat not working in Mullanpur has been a matter of concern for the team.

Shreyas Iyer scored runs in Mullanpur in this IPL

10(5)
9(7)
0(2)
6(10)

He has scored 50+ thrice in four away matches.

Punjab was the worst team in the middle overs

In this match, Punjab scored 17 runs in four overs after the powerplay and lost three wickets. Punjab had scored 62 runs for one wicket in the powerplay. This is the highest number of runs scored in the powerplay against RCB this season. Punjab left Kolkata Knight Riders behind. Kolkata had scored 60 runs for one wicket at Eden Gardens. Punjab's team has been the worst team this season in the phase immediately after the powerplay (overs 7-10). They have lost 12 wickets in this phase and scored at the rate of 7.06 runs per over. Krunal played an important role in restricting Punjab to a low score. He bowled bravely in the powerplay and even after that. Krunal took two wickets for 25 runs in four overs in this match. He is bowling brilliantly in RCB's away matches.

Krunal Pandya's excellent form continues

Krunal has taken 10 wickets in five away matches so far. He took three wickets for 29 runs in four overs at Eden Gardens against Kolkata. Then he gave 26 runs in two overs at Chepauk against CSK and did not take any wicket. Then he took four wickets for 45 runs in four overs at Wankhede against Mumbai. Against Rajasthan in Jaipur, Krunal gave 29 runs in four overs and took one wicket. Then against Punjab in Mullanpur, he has taken two wickets. Punjab's team could score only 157 runs by losing six wickets in 20 overs on their home ground. Prabhsimran scored the highest 33 runs. At the same time, Shashank Singh played an unbeaten innings of 31 runs. Apart from Krunal, Suyash Sharma took two wickets.

Krunal Pandya's performance away from home in this IPL

Opposition team bowling figures
KKR 3/29
CSK 0/26
MI 4/45
RR 1/29
PBKS 2/25