New Delhi: Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Rajat Patidar won the toss and selected to bowl first against Punjab Kings in IPL 2025 qualifier 1 at Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mulanpur, Chandigarh. RCB made a change to play, which was replaced by Nuwan Thaushara to the Australian Paer Josh Hazelwood.“We will bowl first. The wicket looks very difficult with a decent grass cover, and we will try to make most of the first few overs. Everyone gave more than 100 percent in the previous game – Jitesh, Salt, and Kohli were tremendous. A change for us: Hazlewood comes to Thaushara,” The toss said.Punjab Kings captain Shreyas Iyer also made a single change, in which Azmatullah Omarjai came for Marco Jansen.“We must have bowled before. Given the record here, the teams batting first have performed well, so I am optimistic. The crowd has been tremendous – you need the kind of energy when you walk on the field. The way our openers have shown a fearless attitude.
Why is Yuzvendra Chahal not playing today?The absence from XI to play for this important match by Punjab Kings star spinner Yuzvendra Chahal increased eyebrows among fans. In the 2025 auction bought for a heavy for 18 crores, Chahal was expected to play an important role in the playoffs.However, the India leg-spinner is allegedly working with a minor swallowing that excluded him from the last two league matches of PBKS. Head coach Ricky Ponting, despite expressing hope about his recovery, Chahal has been left out of the squad, possibly due to not being completely match-fit.Play xis:Punjab Kings: Priyash Arya, Prabhasimran Singh, Josh England (WK), Shreyas Iyer (C), Nehal Wadera, Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Azmatullah Omarjai, Harpreet Brar, Arshdeep Singh, Arshdeep Singh, Arshdeep Singh, Arshdeep Singh, Arshdeep SinghRoyal Challengers Bangalore: Virat Kohli, Philip Salt, Silver Patidar (C), Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yash Dayal, Josh Hazelwood, Suyash Sharma
Impact option:PBKS: Vijaykumar Vyashak, Praveen Dubey, Suryash Shej, Musheer Khan, Xavier BartlettRCB: Mayank Agarwal, Rasikh Salaam, Manoj Bhandage, Tim Safart, Swapnil Singh
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