The IPL 2025 is heading into a new era where multiple-time championship winners like Chennai Super Kings, Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders are fighting at the bottom, and teams like Punjab Kings, Delhi Capitals, Lucknow Supergiants, and Royal Challengers are battling at the top. All these teams didn’t win any titles, and now they are finding new hope with new captains to win this year.
RCB and PBKS are clearly looking to make it into the playoffs, and their teams look more balanced and well-prepared for the IPL. After losing the first league match against PBKS Bangalore, RCB counter-punched with a thumping win in Mullanpur after chasing 158. Even though it is a back-to-back match, PBKS can’t keep up their momentum in their home game. So, what are the three reasons for PBKS’ loss against Royal Challengers Bangalore?
1. The king’s royal show
King Virat Kohli is back as he played one of the best IPL innings so far this year and helped RCB cross the line. The chase master was in full swing against Punjab Kings as their home loss gave him more motivation to win in Mullanpur. Fans would have enjoyed his post-match antics and cheeky dig at Shreyas Iyer.
Punjab wasn’t able to stop Kohli, and they gave up once the Delhi-born cricketer hit his half-century. He was also accompanied by Devdut Padikkal, who was dearly missed in Bangalore. The massive 103-run partnership between the two gave zero chances to PBKS.
2. PBKS Poor batting
Batting order is the backbone of every team, but unfortunately, Punjab’s batting lineup is not the best compared with RCB. Captain Shreyas Iyer is yet to fire, and they are mostly relying on Prabhsimran Singh and Priyansh Arya.
The opening batters failed, which started a chain reaction, followed by Shreyas and the rest of the batting order. Nehal Wadhera helped them win in Bangalore, but Mullanpur gave him a different challenge, and he couldn’t pull through. There were not enough runs on the board, and this gave more confidence to the RCB batters.
3. RCB Spinners took the game away
Royal Challengers’ Spinners are outstanding in Mullanpur, which assists spin bowling. They used the pitch better than the PBKS spinners. The toss was also crucial and played a huge part in the game. Krunal Pandya and youngster Suyash Sharma bowled amazingly well and kept very tight for the Punjab batters to score runs.
They choked the batters, and PBKS could only put 157 on the board. This is the same track where PBKS defended 111 runs against KKR. But the opposition batter is Virat Kohli, one of the best players of spin. PBKS spinners should have done something magical, but they completely failed against Kohli and Padikkal.
Disclaimer: This Exclusive News is based on the author’s understanding, analysis, and instinct. As you review this information, consider the points mentioned and form your own conclusions.
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