Asked to bat first on a lively green pitch in Mullanpur, Punjab Kings faced an uphill task from the outset. Priyansh Arya’s early departure in just the second over set the tone, as he innocently chipped his fifth ball to short cover, gifting Royal Challengers Bengaluru an easy breakthrough.
Although Prabhsimran Singh tried to counter with a flurry of boundaries, Bhuvneshwar Kumar quickly ended his resistance with a sharp delivery caught behind. Josh Hazlewood then added to Punjab’s misery, first nicking off Shreyas Iyer and then bouncing out Josh Inglis, reducing the side to 38/4.
Marcus Stoinis attempted to stabilize the innings with some aggressive strokes, but the collapse continued after Nehal Wadhera dragged one onto his stumps right after the powerplay. Rajat Patidar’s captaincy move to bring in Suyash Sharma paid immediate dividends as the spinner needed just two balls to bowl Shashank Singh with a beautifully disguised googly.
The chaos forced Punjab to introduce debutant Musheer Khan as an emergency Impact Player, but his stay was painfully brief—just three balls—before another Suyash wrong’un sent him packing.
Suyash wasn’t done yet. The young leggie struck again in his next over, removing Stoinis, who had looked threatening with 26 off 17. Azmatullah Omarzai tried to salvage some pride with a quick 18 off 12, but a brilliant diving take by wicketkeeper Jitesh Sharma finally ended Punjab’s innings at a paltry 101. The dismal total left Bengaluru in a commanding position heading into the chase.
Virat Kohli wasted no time asserting RCB’s dominance, cracking a boundary on the first ball of the innings and following up with another in the second over. Phil Salt joined the party by smashing Arshdeep Singh for a four and a six, putting Punjab further on the back foot.
However, Kyle Jamieson briefly halted the momentum, removing Kohli with a delivery that bounced extra and broke a budding partnership. He also bowled a tight follow-up over, including a maiden to Mayank Agarwal.
Despite the brief setback, Salt remained undeterred. The English opener took charge, hammering Jamieson for two fours and a six in his next over as Bengaluru surged ahead. Though Musheer Khan managed to dismiss Mayank down the leg side, the outcome was inevitable.
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Salt steered the chase calmly, finishing unbeaten on 56 off 27 balls, and RCB cruised to victory in the 10th over, booking their spot in the IPL 2025 final with a comprehensive all-round performance.