Punjab Kings crash to 101 all out in IPL 2025 Qualifier 1 against RCB

Mullanpur: Punjab Kings ultra-aggressive approach backfired on the day as Royal Challengers Bengaluru skittled the home team for 101 in Qualifier 1 of the Indian Premier League here on Thursday.

On a surface where hitting through the line proved to be tricky, the all-out attack strategy of the Punjab Kings contributed to their downfall after they were put in to bat. Their innings lasted just 14.1 overs.

The RCB pace trio of Josh Hazlewood (3/21), Bhuvneshwar Kumar (1/17) and Yash Dayal (2/26) exploited the conditions well before leg-spinner Suyash Sharma (3/17) made it worse for the opposition.

It is to be noted that Punjab Kings are featuring in their first play-off fixture since 2014.

Punjab Kings’ steep slide began when in-form opener Priyansh Arya was caught at cover off Dayal as he couldn't check his drive. His opening partner Prabhsimran Singh (18 off 10) followed him back into the dugout in the following over from Bhuvneshwar.

Having collected two straight boundaries on the charge, Prabhimsran stepped out for a third swipe but Bhuvneshwar pulled his length back to induced the edge.

Captain Shreyas Iyer, who has been central to the team’s success this season, went for a wild slog off Hazlewood on his third ball of the innings but was caught behind. The Australian pacer then sent back his country man Josh Inglis off a rising ball that the former could not control, creating a sense of panic in the dressing room .

The batters continued to go for their shots to hasten Punjab Kings’s slide.

Against leggie Suyash, the likes of Marcus Stoinis (26 off 17) and Shashank Singh went for the slog sweep but could not connect to the googly.

Musheer Khan, making an unexpected IPL debut as an impact player with wickets falling in heap, too fell to a sweep off Suyash, who got his googly to turn sharply.

Having put up a poor effort with the bat, Punjab Kings would take some confidence from their league stage outing against KKR when they defended 111 on a challenging surface here. PTI BS KHS