Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) fans had their fingers crossed, hoping that Tim David would recover from his hamstring injury and feature in the IPL 2025 final against Punjab Kings (PBKS) on Tuesday, June 3, at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
However, at the toss, Rajat Patidar mentioned that RCB are going in with the same team which defeated PBKS by eight wickets in Qualifier 1. This means that David will have to watch the all-important fixture from the sidelines, with Liam Livingstone getting another shot at redemption following his abysmal returns so far in IPL 2025.
Toss Update
Shreyas Iyer won the toss for PBKS and had no hesitation in deciding to field first. He said that in the team meetings, the significance of remaining calm in pressure situations was explained. Meanwhile, Patidar admitted that he would have bowled first had he won the toss. However, he is hopeful of putting up a big total and exerting pressure on their opponents.
PBKS, RCB remain unchanged
While RCB decided to stick to the same team that defeated PBKS in Qualifier 1, Shreyas also backed the same set of players who orchestrated a thrilling win against Mumbai Indians in Qualifier 2.
What did the captains say?
Shreyas Iyer, PBKS skipper
We’re going to bowl. Only want to give positive signs to my mind and body. It’s an amazing day. Crowd is electrifying. All we have to do is come here and cherish. Boys are in brilliant shape and mindset. All we spoke about in the team meeting is the more calm you are, the better. Nerves are fine. I won’t say it’s just like another game. It’s the final and we’re going to play like a final. Tremendous feeling just thinking about lifting the trophy. Same team.
Rajat Patidar, RCB skipper
We were also going to bowl. Pitch looks hard, will try to put a good score and put them under pressure. Till now we’ve played good cricket. It’s just another game for us. It’s a big stage but as I said it’s just another away game for us. Same team. Pitch is looking good. I think it’s a flat track, a mix of red and black soil.
Playing XIs
Punjab Kings
Priyansh Arya, Josh Inglis (WK), Shreyas Iyer (C), Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Azmatullah Omarzai, Kyle Jamieson, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal.
Impact Subs: Prabhsimran Singh, Praveen Dubey, Suryansh Shedge, Xavier Bartlet, Harpreet Brar
Royal Challengers Bengaluru
Philip Salt, Virat Kohli, Mayank Agarawal, Rajat Patidar (C), Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yash Dayal, Josh Hazlewood.
Impact Subs: Rasikh Salam, Manoj Bhandage, Tim Seifert, Swapnil Singh, Suyash Sharma
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