Okay, folks! That is it from the Qualifier 1 match of IPL 2025 that was played between RCB and PBKS. While RCB enter the final, PBKS will wait and face the winner of Eliminator match that takes place between Gujarat Titans and Mumbai Indians tomorrow (Friday). Do join us for the game and keep following NDTV Sports. Goodbye:)

Suryash Sharma has been named the Player of the Match for his bowling figures of 3 for 17 in 3 overs. He bowled really and the Punjab Kings batters failed to pick his googlies. "My coaches gave me just one role, which is to hit the stumps whether I bowl legbreak, googly, flipper or any other variation . It (googly) is my stock ball and also I got a bit of help from the wicket as well. Not quite now (whether he will be celebrating tonight), I will celebrate on 3rd (June) and very hard as well," said Suyash.

"Great feeling right now, it (the ball) did move a bit. I think that was not the worst wicket to have played on in this season. (Replying to what was going on in his mind during the chase) Don't get out to Arshdeep, we played 2 group games (with PBKS) and he's found different ways to get me out, so was just trying to react to the ball. I said before the game to Andy (Flower) that was the blessing in disguise for us (talking about the travel and breaks in between games). (This win) Gives us the momentum, it is a cliche but true, that's what you want at the backend of the tournament, want to hit your straps and play a part with the bat or ball," said RCB's Phil Salt.

"Not a day to forget, but got to go back to the drawing board. We lost a lot of wickets (in the first innings.) There's a lot to go back and study on. I am not doubting on my decisions to be honest. Whatever we did in terms of planning. Outside of the ground whatever (planning) we did was on point. We couldn't execute. Can't even blame the bowlers, as it was a low total to defend. We got to work on our batting especially on this wicket. In all the games we have played there there has been some variable bounce. We can't give such reasons because we are professionals at the end of the day and we have to bat according to the situation. We have lost the battle, but not the war," said PBKS captain Shreyas Iyer.

RCB ARE INTO THE FINAL OF IPL 2025! Rajat Patidar slams the match-winning six and RCB have won this game by 8 wickets. They enter the final of IPL for the fourth time. They did it in 2009, then in 2011, then in 2016 and now in 2025!

Phil Salt raced to his half-century in only 23 balls. He get there with a single on the second ball of Harpreet Brar's over. The right-handed batter later played a cut short for a four through the backward point. Royal Challengers Bengaluru need 10 runs in 66 balls.

RCB 92/2 (9)

Mayank Agarawal is gone! He is out for 19 runs off 13 balls. Musheer Khan gets the wicket. This has only delayed Royal Challengers Bengaluru's victory a bit. They need 18 runs in 73 balls. Mere formality remains in this game.

4,4,6 - This is some sensational stuff from Phil Salt. He has slammed Kyle Jamieson for fun. This bowler had bowled a wicket maiden in his last over, but Salt doesn't care about it. A total of 21 runs came off the over. RCB need only 41 runs to enter the final.

That is a classy shot from Phil Salt for a four. Azmatullah Omarzai bowled a good length ball outside the off-stump and Salt opened the face of his bat to steer it for a four. Royal Challengers Bengaluru need 62 runs in 90 balls.

Kyle Jamieson has bowled a wicket maiden. It was a sensational over from the pacer. He got some terrific bounce and swing on his bowling and troubled new batter Mayank Agarwal. He even beat his outside edge more than a couple of times in the over but was unlucky enough to not get his wicket.

Virat Kohli is gone! Kyle Jamieson gets the much-deserved wicket. He troubled Kohli a bit in his first over and now gets his wicket. It was a short ball outside off-stump, had extra bounce in it and Kohli ended up edging it to the wicketkeeper. Royal Challengers Bengaluru need 72 runs.

Wow! What a shot it is from Phil Salt. Arshdeep Singh bowled it short and Salt pulled it away powerfully for a six into the stands at deep square leg. 13 runs came off the second over of Arshdeep Singh. RCB are off to a flying start.

RCB 30/0 (3)

Arshdeep Singh bowled a short ball on the hips of Virat Kohli and the batter flicked it away for a four through the fine leg fence. Kohli played the shot and ran towards the non-striker's end for a usual run. He then gave a death stare to Arshdeep, who was not at all interesting in indulging.

Punjab Kings batter kept swinging wildly and kept losing wickets. None of them decided to stay at the crease for a longer time and all everyone wanted was to go for big shots. They paid a heavy price for it. This chase must be a cakewalk for RCB, who are coming on the back of a sensational run-chase against LSG.

Azmatullah Omarzai swung hard but only managed to get an outside edge and Jitesh Sharma took a superb catch flying to his right. That is the third wicket for Josh Hazlewood. PBKS are all out for just 101. "Wild swinging," said ex-India captain Sunil Gavaskar on-air while slamming the batting of PBKS.

PBKS 101 (14.1)

Harpreet Brar is OUT! It was a short ball from Romario Shepherd and Harpreet played it on his stumps. Punjab Kings are nine down now and Royal Challengers Bengaluru need only one more wicket to wrap this up.

Nine runs came in the third over of Suyash Sharma. Azmatullah Omarzai slammed a six on the third ball of the over. He connected it well enough to hit it over the fielder at cow corner. Omarzai is batting at the score of 13 off 9 balls.

Five runs came off the final over of Yash Dayal. He ends his quota of four overs with figures of 2 for 26. This is an impressive spell from the left-handed pacer. Punjab Kings have 8 more overs left in this innings. They actually need a miracle to play it out.

On the fourth ball of Suyash Sharma's over, Harpreet Brar got his on the foot but umpire was unconvinced with the LBW appeal. RCB decided to go upstairs only to find out that the ball had pitched outside the leg stump.

PBKS 78/8 (11)

Cleaned him up! Another googly from Suyash Sharma and Marcus Stoinis is gone. He tried to hit it for a biggie and missed it completely. The ball rattled the stumps once again! Punjab Kings are 8 down. RCB need only two wickets to wrap up this innings.

PBKS 78/8 (10.3)

Krunal Pandya pitched it up and Marcus Stoinis jumped out his crease to slam it over the bowler's head for a biggie. It went over the long-off and cleared the fence quite comfortably. Punjab Kings need a blinder from Stoinis here to stand a chance in this game.

Suyash Sharma strikes again and it the wicket of impact sub Musheer Khan. It was a leg-spin from Suyash and Musheer tried to play a sweep shot on it. He missed it and got hit in front of the leg stump. Umpire raised his finger over an LBW appeal and even a review failed to save Musheer.

PBKS 60/7 (8.5)

Musheer Khan has been brought in as impct substitue in place of Prabhsimran Singh. RCB have forced PBKS to do this as the latter team is 6 down with more than 11 overs left to play in the innings.

Suyash Sharma strikes. Shashank Singh is gone. It was a googly from Suyash and Shashank missed it completely while trying to go for a big shot. That ball rattled the stumps. Punjab Kings are six down in just 8.2 overs. Horrible batting display this is from the side!  

A short of length ball from Josh Hazlewood and Marcus Stoinis slams it away for a four through the deep mid-wicket region. He didn't hit the shot from the middle of his bat but had enough wood on it to race away to the fence.

The problem increases for Punjab Kings! They are five down now. It was a good length delivery from Yash Dayal and Nehal Wadhera has played it on his stumps. Punjab Kings are five down. Shashank Singh comes in as the next batter.

10 runs and a wicket came off the over from Josh Hazlewood. He has picked two wickets so far in two overs. The first powerplay has ended and it was completely dominated by RCB. They have picked 4 wickets and PBKS find themselves in deep-deep trouble.

Josh Hazlewood continues to damage Punjab Kings! He has now dismissed Josh Inglis. It was a short ball from Hazlewood and that did the trick for him. Inglis failed to pull it well and ended up finding Bhuvneshwar Kumar at long leg. 

Another Punjab Kings batter bites the dust! Josh Hazlewood provides the wicket this time and it is the big one of Shreyas Iyer. This was simply a nothing shot from Iyer and he tried to play a pull shot on a back of a length ball from Hazlewood and ended up edging it to the RCB wicketkeeper.

Prabhsimran Singh is out for 18 off 10 balls and PBKS are in trouble here. The right-handed batter jumped out of his crease but Bhuvneshwar Kumar shortened his length a bit and that swung away from Prabhsimran, finding the edge of his bat.

Prabhsimran Singh has slammed Yash Dayal for a six over the deep fine leg. It was a poor short ball outside the line of leg stump and Prabhsimran pulled it over the fielder in the deep. 10 runs came off the over and a wicket.

Priyansh Arya is GONE! He has played it right into the hands of the cover fielder. Yash Dayal strikes on the second ball of his spell. Priyansh failed to keep his drive down. He tried to play it on the rise and ended up hitting it into the hands of Krunal Pandya at the score of 7 off 5 balls.

A single on the final ball of the first over and Prabhsimran Singh races to the 500-run mark with it in IPL 2025. A total of 8 runs came off the over from Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Prabhsimran Singh smashed a four through backward point in the over.

PBKS 8/0 (1)

Bhuvneshwar Kumar has the new ball in hand. Prabhsimran Singh and Priyansh Arya are set to open for PBKS. Here we go... Bhuvi starts with a short of length ball on the leg stump and Priyansh clips it on the leg side for a couple.

"It was a run chase for the ages (vs LSG). It was a very good wicket in Lucknow. The way the middle-order came out and finished the job after we set it up, was almost what you dream of while chasing a big score like that. I think we have no choice but to do that. The way the cards have fallen for us, there's no time for think about anything else than finish the game. Need to recover, get on the plane and need to get going once again. It's nice to get to this stage of the competition, regardless who you are playing for. As a player this is where you want to be, it's really exciting. Good to have Hazlewood back, hopefully he picks up where he left off," said RCB player Phil Salt.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru Impact Subs: Mayank Agarawal, Rasikh Salam, Manoj Bhandage, Tim Seifert, Swapnil Singh.

Punjab Kings Impact Subs: Vijaykumar Vyshak, Praveen Dubey, Suryansh Shedge, Musheer Khan, Xavier Bartlet.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (Playing XI): Virat Kohli, Philip Salt, Rajat Patidar(c), Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma(w), Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yash Dayal, Josh Hazlewood, Suyash Sharma

Punjab Kings (Playing XI): Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh, Josh Inglis(w), Shreyas Iyer(c), Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Azmatullah Omarzai, Harpreet Brar, Arshdeep Singh, Kyle Jamieson

"Would have bowled first as well. If you look at the record here, teams batting first have done well, so I am optimistic. They (the crowd) have been tremendous and you need such kind of vibration when you enter the ground and it gives us a lot of energy as well. The way they (openers) have been showing the fearless approach and the attitude has been brilliant. Marco goes out and Azmatullah comes in for him," said PBKS captain Shreyas Iyer.

"We will bowl first. Wicket looks very hard, decent covering of grass and will try to maximise the first few overs. Everyone gave more than 100 percent in the last game, Jitesh Salt and Kohli they were tremendous. One change for us. Hazlewood comes in place of Thushara," said RCB captain Rajat Patidar.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru captain Rajat Patidar is back to his role. That is a massive boost for RCB and in another huge boost, the team has Josh Hazlewood back. Patidar won the toss and opted to bowl first against PBKS.

"The square boundaries are 62m and 65m respectively, it's 73m straight down the ground. It is deceptively a biggish venue. This pitch was used twice before this season. In the night game, 200+ was scored, while 150-plus was scored in the day game. The pitch has got a lot of grass, so it will help the batters as the ball will come on to the bat nicely. There's a lot of grass at one end for the fast bowlers, but it will only help the ball come on to the bat better. At the other end, the length where spinners might pitch the ball, there's very less grass on that particular area. So it might slow down a little bit for the spinners. There's a bit of moisture in the air, so there will be a little bit of dew as well. Out of the four games, three games were won by the team batting first, those were all night games. The only game that was won by the team batting second was the day game," said former India player Deep Dasgupta while assessing the pitch.

Josh Hazlewood was seen on the ground, doing stretches under the observation of trainer Shanker Basu. Will he be playing the match tonight? In case he plays, it will a massive good news and also a huge boost for Royal Challengers Bengaluru.

Mullanpur has hosted four games this season, with PBKS winning two and losing as many. One of those defeats was against RCB. The temperature is likely to fluctuate around 30°C with no forecast for rain.

Punjab Kings are without Marco Jansen who has flown back to prepare for the WTC final. Ideally, Azmat Omarzai should be a direct replacement. They also have the options of Xavier Bartlett and Vijaykumar Vyshak, but that will compromise their batting depth.

'
Chasing a direct ticket to the #TATAIPL Final!@cricketaakash reveals the one face-off that could define the fate of Qualifier 1! #IPLPlayoffs Qualifier 1 #PBKSvRCB | 29th MAY, THU, 6 PM on Star... pic.twitter.com/wIWjfeCgOu

— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) May 29, 2025

Royal Challengers Bengaluru are way too familiar with heartbreaks of the knock-out stages and like every season, are hoping to end their title drought. In their own words, the job is only half done for both title contenders. RCB have played the finals of IPL in 2009, 2011 and 2016, but ended up losing all of them.

Virat Kohli is only half-century away from equalling the all-time record of David Warner of smashing most fifties in a single IPL season. Currently, Kohli has 8 fifties to his name in IPL 2025. He just needs one more to equal the record of Warner and two to break it. Not tough for this man, who is in sensational touch this season!

For Virat, it's the hope of a first
For Rohit, the hunger for a historic sixth with #MI
This isn't just a league. It's legacy in motion #IPLPlayoffs Qualifier1 #PBKSvRCB | 29th MAY, THU, 6 PM on Star Sports Network & JioHotstar! pic.twitter.com/C7QWyjfuGv

— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) May 29, 2025

Punjab Kings find themselves in unfamiliar territory having made the play-offs for the first time since 2014 but they are not carrying the baggage of the past in the Iyer-Ricky Ponting (head coach) era. The Iyer-Ponting partnership has resulted in a stellar turnaround for Punjab Kings, who have finally cracked the consistency code after more than a decade of under-performance.

Shreyas Iyer's inspiring leadership will face its toughest test yet when Punjab Kings host an equally upbeat Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Qualifier 1. Having earned the cushion of a top-two finish, one can expect both teams to have a no holds barred approach knowing they will get another shot at reaching the final even if they come up short on the opening night of the play-offs.

The winner of Qualifier 1 match will get a direct entry into the final of IPL 2025. On the other hand, the losing team will not be eliminated from the tournament and will have its chance. The losing side will have to play Qualifier 2, in which it will face the winner of the Eliminator game that will be played between Gujarat Titans and Mumbai Indians.

Hello everyone, welcome to the live blog of Qualifier 1 of IPL 2025. Punjab Kings and Royal Challengers Bengaluru face each other for a spot in the final. The contest is set to take place at Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, Mullanpur, Chandigarh.