The Punjab Kings (PBKS) and the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) will contest their 34th IPL 2025 match on Friday, April 18, at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru will play the Punjab Kings in the 34th game of IPL 2025 at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. The game will be played on April 18 at 7:30 PM IST.

The Royal Challengers Bengaluru are third in the points table with four victories and two defeats in six games. They beat the Rajasthan Royals by eight wickets in their last game. Both of their losses this season have been at home, and RCB will hope to do better than that in the future.

The Punjab Kings, meanwhile, beat the Kolkata Knight Riders by 16 runs in their last game. Having defended 111 runs the lowest IPL total ever—the team will be confident going into this encounter. Having won four games and lost two from six games, they are placed fourth in the table. It should be a closely contested game.

Match Preview

Royal Challengers Bengaluru

Rajat Patidar's side has impressed with its consistency and overpowering performances this season. In their previous game, they beat Rajasthan Royals by nine wickets. The batting unit played incredibly and calmly fought their way to the massive total. Punjab Kings have played well this season, and Patidar desires his side to play aggressively and leverage the home factor to ascend to the top of the table.

Phillip Salt is attacking with the bowlers and will aim to give Virat Kohli a good start in this match. Devdutt Padikkal will aim to take charge of the innings in the middle order, finding runs with Liam Livingstone and Jitesh Sharma. The team has a solid batting line-up and will look for runs from Tim David, Krunal Pandya, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar was impressive with the new ball in the previous game and will have to achieve early wickets with Yash Dayal. Krunal Pandya is a headache for the batters and will have to continue to put pressure during the middle overs with Josh Hazlewood. Suyash Sharma and Liam Livingstone are looked upon to deliver well in support roles by the team since the Punjab Kings have a solid bank of batsmen.

Punjab Kings

The Punjab Kings approach this game behind a resounding win over KKR. The team has emerged victorious in four of their six games and finds themselves in the fourth position of the points table.

Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh are a potent opening combination, and if they fire, the Punjab Kings may register a huge win. Priyansh Arya is a good batsman but must bat regularly. Shreyas Iyer and Nehal Wadhera have shown some great performances in the series till now and are a good middle order.

All-rounders Glenn Maxwell and Marco Jansen have been disappointing so far and will look to get some runs in this game. The Punjab Kings must be highly satisfied with their bowling effort in the previous match. They defended a target of 112 runs, which is the lowest in IPL history.

Yuzvendra Chahal took four wickets and remains the team's best spinner. Arshdeep Singh will spearhead the new-ball attack, joined by Xavier Bartlett and Jansen.

Pitch Report

The Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore is typically a great place for batting, and we’re anticipating a similar pitch for this match. The average score for the first innings hovers around 170, but the team that bats first will definitely be aiming for at least 200 runs. The wicket might be a little damp, but spinners could find some assistance as the ball starts to soften. The boundaries here aren’t particularly long, so we can expect a lot of runs to be scored.

Toss Prediction

In their last five matches, the team chasing has come out on top four times. The pitch has been a bit slower than usual, making it challenging to rack up runs, especially with some hefty run-chases on the horizon. Both teams will likely draw on their past successes and opt to bowl first.

Weather Report

With only a 10% chance of disruption, we think the weather will have a minimal impact on the game. Expect temperatures to reach a high of 32°C and a low of 23°C.

Head to Head

The Punjab Kings have a slight edge with a 17-16 lead in their matchups against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru. They faced off twice last season, and RCB came out victorious both times.

Venue Details

The M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru is a gem for T20 cricket, thanks to its quiet pitch, speedy outfield, and shorter boundaries. We've witnessed plenty of thrilling high-scoring matches here, as batsmen really thrive on this surface, which doesn’t offer much help to bowlers.

Match Prediction

The Punjab Kings are riding high after a memorable victory, but they might be worried about their batting form. Historically, they haven’t fared well against the Royal Challengers, especially at this venue. On the other hand, the Royal Challengers Bengaluru boast a solid top order and a well-balanced bowling lineup for this match. We’re anticipating a nail-biter, but RCB seems to have the upper hand.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru for the win!

Betting Tips

We’re putting our money on Punjab Kings to take the win. They’ve been playing some fantastic cricket this season, excelling both with the bat and in the bowling department. The team boasts a solid opening pair and a reliable middle order. Their bowlers have also been performing well. On the other hand, RCB has had a tough time at home and might feel a bit anxious. Still, they’re a formidable team, and we’re expecting a nail-biter of a game. When it comes to head-to-head, RCB has a win percentage of 56% against PBKS.

Bet on RCB.

Probable Playing XI

Royal Challengers Bengaluru Playing XI

Phil Salt, Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar (C), Jitesh Sharma (WK), Liam Livingstone, Krunal Pandya, Tim David, Josh Hazlewood, Yash Dayal, Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, Tim David.

Punjab Kings Playing XI

Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh (WK), Shreyas Iyer (C), Nehal Wadhera, Josh Inglis, Shashank Singh, Glenn Maxwell, Marco Jansen, Xavier Bartlett, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal.

Top Fantasy Picks Dream11 Prediction

Royal Challengers Bengaluru Key Players

Virat Kohli was once again brilliant in the previous match, scoring his third half-century of the season. With 248 runs to his name, he is his team's top run-scorer and our pick for the next match.

Josh Hazlewood performed poorly in the previous match, but he still gave a brilliant performance this season and is also his team's top wicket-keeper, so he is our pick for the next match.

Phil Salt was at his best during the 2025 IPL, adding to last season's performance. He amassed 208 runs off six matches with a 34.67 average and a strike rate of 185.72. The Englishman has hit two blistering half-centuries this season.

Punjab Kings Key Players

Shreyas Iyer has compiled 250 runs in five matches this season with an average of 83 and a strike rate of 208. He would be a great option for captaincy.

Yuzvendra Chahal had a silent tournament until the last match when he scored four runs and changed the fortunes for PBKS. He used to bowl for Chinnaswamy for some seasons and did a great job against batsmen, even beyond short boundaries.

Priyansh Arya made a 40-ball century against CSK some matches back and is a good pick against them.