After playing a rain-truncated match on Friday, Punjab Kings and Royal Challengers Bengaluru will face each other in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 on April 20. The PBKS vs RCB IPL match will be played at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur and will be an afternoon contest, which will start at 3:30 PM  Indian Standard Time (IST). Punjab Kings are second in the IPL 2025 table and have a shot at moving up to first place with a resounding win. For RCB, a win could keep them in the top four of the IPL 2025 standings. PBKS vs RCB IPL 2025, Chandigarh Weather, Rain Forecast and Pitch Report: Here’s How Weather Will Behave for Punjab Kings vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru at Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium.

PBKS have been playing excellent cricket lately, with their bowling unit standing up match after match, while the batting has been a hit-and-miss, with individual batters pulling the franchise out of a ditch time and again. A lot will once again depend on the top-order for PBKS to score runs, with Shreyas Iyer being their lynchpin.

On the other hand, RCB have blown hot and cold with both their batting and bowling units failing on multiple occasions. Unless Phil Salt and Virat Kohli score runs at the top, others have not been able to steer the ship; the bowling, too, is heavily dependent on Josh Hazlewood alone to pick wickets.

Punjab Kings

The top-order remains to be led by the likes of Priyansh Arya, Shreyas Iyer, and Prabhsimran Singh, who all have been in the runs this season, but in the last few games have collectively failed. Nehal Wadhera is coming into form is good news for PBKS, who have an underperforming middle-order with Shashank Singh, Glenn Maxwell, and others.

The bowling has been the star of the franchise this season so far, with the likes of Arshdeep Singh and Marco Jansen leading from the front. With Yuzvendra Chahal gaining his wicket-taking best, the spin department also looks solid with Harpreet Brar. Punjab Kings Beat Royal Challengers Bengaluru by Five Wickets; Nehal Wadhera, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal Guide PBKS to Comprehensive Win in Rain-Hit Game in Bengaluru.

PBKS Likely XI vs RCB

Priyansh Arya, Nehal Wadhera, Shreyas Iyer(c), Shashank Singh, Josh Inglis(w), Marcus Stoinis, Marco Jansen, Harpreet Brar, Xavier Bartlett, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal

Impact Players: Praveen Dubey, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Manoj Bhandage,, Vishnu Vinod, Harpreet Brar

Royal Challengers Bengaluru

The top order is fairly sorted with Phil Salt, Virat Kohli, and Devdutt Padikkal. Captain Rajat Patidar, who sometimes utilises himself as a floater, has also been up and down. The major issue has been the middle-late order, with Jitesh Sharma and Liam Livingstone failing regularly. Tim David came into form against Punjab Kings, and will hope others around him also chip in.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood have the spearhead of the bowling unit, but the spinners have their Achilles heel. Suyash Sharma needs to be more consistent, with Krunal Pandya heading the spin department.

RCB Likely XI vs PBKS

Philip Salt, Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar(c), Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma(w), Tim David, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Suyash Sharma, Yash Dayal

Impact Players: Manoj Bhandage, Rasikh Dar Salam, Manoj Bhandage, Jacob Bethell, Swapnil Singh

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 19, 2025 10:30 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).