New Delhi: Rajat Patidar, lead royal challengers Bangalore, won the toss and selected the first area 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, decent covering of grass and will try to maximize the first few overs. All gave more than 100 percent in the previous game, Jitesh, salt and Kohli were tremendous. A change for us. Hazelwood comes in place of Thaushara.”
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Punjab Kings captain Shreyas Iyer also made a change on his behalf, in which Azmatullah Omarjai replaced Marco Jenson.
“The bowling would have been bowled earlier. If you look at the record here, the teams batting first have performed well, so I am optimistic. They (crowds) are tremendous and you need such vibration when you enter the ground and it gives us a lot of energy. The way they (opener) are showing a fearless approach to (opener) and the attitude comes out.Why is Jitesh Sharma not leading RCB today?Silver Patidar, who was sidelined with a finger injury during the RCB struggle against Chennai Super Kings before the league break, returned to lead the side after achieving fitness.In the absence of Patidar, Jitesh Sharma captured the captaincy. Under his leadership, RCB sealed a playoff place with a dramatic six wicket win over the Lucknow super veterans. Jitesh scored an unbeaten 85, while Virat Kohli contributed 54 as RCB chased 228 and finished second in standing and secured qualifier 1 clash with table-toppers Punjab Kings.The result dropped the Titans of Gujarat to third place, setting up its eliminator Clash against Mumbai Indians on Friday.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 SharmaImpact option:Punjab Kings: Vijaykumar Vyashak, Praveen Dubey, Suryash Shed, Mushir Khan, Xavier BartlettRCB: Mayank Agarwal, Rasikh Salaam, Manoj Bhandage, Tim Safart, Swapnil Singh
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