TATA IPL 2025 – Match 34: Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Punjab Kings – Fantasy Cricket Tips & Match Predictions (18th April)

Get ready for Match 34 of the TATA Indian Premier League 2025 as Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) take on Punjab Kings (PBKS) at the iconic M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on April 18th.

Match 34 - Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) vs Punjab Kings (PBKS) (M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru)

Current Form Royal Challengers Bengaluru:

Royal Challengers Bengaluru are currently placed at the 3rd position on points table with 4 wins and 2 losses to their credit.

The NRR for Royal Challengers Bengaluru is 0.672.

The top run scorer for Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the Indian Premier League is Virat Kohli with 248 runs to his name.

The top wicket taker for Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the Indian Premier League is Josh Hazlewood with 9 scalps under his belt.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru have won their previous match against Rajasthan Royals by 9 wickets.

Rajasthan Royals batted first and they posted a total of 173 for 4 in 20 overs. Yashasvi Jaiswal batted superbly at the top of the order. He made 75 runs in 47 balls, hitting 10 fours and 2 sixes. The rest of the top order batters failed to get going and kept gifting their wicket away. Dhruv Jurel smashed 35 runs in the middle order to help Rajasthan Royals get to 173 in their innings.

During the chase, Phil Salt and Virat Kohli got their team off to a flying start. Kohli made 62 off 45 balls while Salt smashed 65 runs in just 33 balls to help Royal Challengers Bengaluru chase the target comfortably in the 18th over with 9 wickets in hand.

Current Form Punjab Kings:

Punjab Kings are currently placed at the 4th position on points table with 4 wins and 2 losses to their credit.

The NRR for Punjab Kings is 0.172.

The top run scorer for Punjab Kings in the Indian Premier League is Shreyas Iyer with 250 runs to his name.

The top wicket taker for Punjab Kings in the Indian Premier League is Arshdeep Singh with 8 scalps under his belt.

Punjab Kings have won their previous thriller of a match against Kolkata Knight Riders by 16 runs.

Punjab Kings batted first and they posted a small total of 111 before being bowled out. The start was thrilling with Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh smashing the bowlers to all parts. They scored 32 runs off 2 overs and post that phase, Punjab Kings kept losing wickets in clusters and could never stage a comeback into the match. Harshit Rana picked up 3 wickets for 25 runs and helped bowl Punjab Kings out for a small total of 111.

During the chase, Kolkata Knight Riders lost Quinton de Kock and Sunil Narine cheaply. After their dismissals, Ajinkya Rahane and Angkrish Raghuvanshi played well in the Powerplay overs. Once the Powerplay overs were done, Ajinkya Rahane was dismissed and his wicket triggered a collapse in the middle order. Yuzvendra Chahal bowled exceptionally well and picked up 4 wickets for 28 runs to bowl Kolkata Knight Riders out for 95, as Punjab Kings won the game by 16 runs.

Let’s have a look at the squads:

Royal Challengers Bengaluru

Rajat Patidar (c), Virat Kohli, Yash Dayal, Josh Hazlewood, Phil Salt, Jitesh Sharma, Liam Livingstone, Rasikh Dar, Suyash Sharma, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Swapnil Singh, Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Nuwan Thushara, Manoj Bhandage, Jacob Bethel, Devdutt Padikkal, Swastik Chhikara, Lungi Ngidi, Abhinandan Singh, Mohit Rathee

Punjab Kings

Shreyas Iyer (c), Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell, Shashank Singh, Prabhsimran Singh, Harpreet Brar, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Yash Thakur, Marco Jansen, Josh Inglis, Lockie Ferguson, Azmatullah Omarzai, Harnoor Pannu, Kuldeep Sen, Priyansh Arya, Aaron Hardie, Musheer Khan, Suryansh Shedge, Xavier Bartlett, Pyla Avinash, Pravin Dubey, Nehal Wadhera

Cricket Betting Tips and Match Predictions* - PrePlay

Who will win the toss? – Punjab Kings

Who will win?- Punjab Kings

Top Batter (Runs Scored) - Virat Kohli (Royal Challengers Bengaluru), Shreyas Iyer (Punjab Kings)

Top Bowler (Wickets taken) - Bhuvneshwar Kumar (Royal Challengers Bengaluru), Arshdeep Singh (Punjab Kings)

Most Sixes – Virat Kohli (Royal Challengers Bengaluru), Shreyas Iyer (Punjab Kings)

Player of the Match- Shreyas Iyer (Punjab Kings)

Team Scores Batting first – Punjab Kings 200+, Royal Challengers Bengaluru 185+

Match Handicap: Punjab Kings

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*NB these predictions may be changed nearer the start of the match once the final starting teams have been announced and we will be running ‘In-Play’ features, so stay tuned.

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