On May 29, Robin Uthappa spoke about the IPL 2025 Qualifier 1 between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and the Punjab Kings at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur. The former RCB player stated that both clubs have momentum after tremendous victories in their previous games, respectively.
Uthappa predicted a high-scoring game and gave the Kings a minor advantage because it will be played at their home ground at Mullanpur. However, the former RCB player predicted that the three-time finalists would respond strongly, especially after defeating Lucknow Super Giants in their backyard to qualify for Qualifier 1.
“Both the Punjab Kings and the Royal Challengers Bangalore have momentum. It will be an exciting game. Punjab may have a little advantage when playing at home. However, the RCB is fully capable of responding. “After this game and this kind of batting performance by RCB? 100 percent,” Uthappa told JioHotstar.
How did Punjab Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore make it to IPL Qualifier 1 in 2025?
PBKS and RCB, along with the Gujarat Titans and Mumbai Indians, were among the strongest teams in the 18th edition of the league. The two teams, who have never won a championship, will face off in Mullanpur. It wasn’t settled until two days earlier, as both PBKS and RCB needed to win their final league stage match to qualify for Qualifier 1.
Punjab Kings accomplished this with a dominant victory over MI. The 2014 finalists bowled brilliantly, restricting the 5-time champions to 184 runs. While Arshdeep Singh and Vijaykumar Vyshak shone with the ball, Josh Inglis and Priyansh Arya delivered impressive runs against a formidable bowling attack to help PBKS defeat MI.
RCB faced a more difficult test against LSG, as they were required to chase 228 in Lucknow. The Bengaluru-based franchise pulled off a remarkable victory, winning by six wickets with eight balls remaining. Virat Kohli (54 off 30), Nuwan Thushara (1/26), Jitesh Sharma (85 off 33), and Mayank Agarwal (41 off 23) led their team to victory, with Krunal Pandya (14 runs off 2 overs) and Phil Salt (30 off 19) also contributing.
