On Sunday, Punjab Kings achieved a feat no team had done before in the IPL. Shreyas Iyer led the charge to help PBKS become the first team to chase 200+ against Mumbai Indians. Now, on Tuesday, PBKS aim to win what could be their first IPL title since the tournament’s inception. They face a spirited and in-form Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), in what promises to be a blockbuster clash.
RCB handed Punjab Kings an embarrassment when the two teams faced off in Qualifier 1 in Chandigarh. PBKS were shot down for 101, the joint third-lowest total in a playoff game. Now in Ahmedabad, Iyer and Co. aim for revenge and a first title for the franchise. Here, at Insidesport.IN, we look at 3 weaknesses Punjab Kings could target to end their IPL drought.
Dependence on Kohli, Salt
RCB have done well to reduce the burden on Virat Kohli’s shoulders this season. RCB have had several stars turn up with the bat, with a record 10 batsmen scoring a half-century for them in IPL 2025. Nonetheless, those exploits have still been aided by Kohli’s consistency at the top. Virat has 614 runs in 14 games this season, his 3rd straight season scoring 600 or more runs.
He is comfortably RCB’s leading run-getter this season, with Phil Salt a distant second with 387. The former captain has been central to holding the innings together while the rest of the batting order goes hard from ball 1. Virat Kohli’s runs have come at a strike rate of 146.53, with him scoring a half-century in every second innings. His record at Ahmedabad is exceptional, averaging 68.14 with 477 runs in 12 games. His partnership with Salt is crucial to RCB’s chances and Punjab would hope to dismantle the same.
Punjab Kings will hope that Arshdeep Singh can provide them with early breakthroughs. The left-armer has picked up 36 off his 77 IPL career wickets in the powerplay. With Kyle Jamieson also for company, Shreyas will hope to assert dominance early. Jamieson famously dismissed Kohli in the WTC Final in 2021 and will hope to replicate the same on Tuesday.
Death bowling woes
Josh Hazlewood has been RCB’s shining light this season, but they the others have much work to do. RCB struggle especially in the death overs, with Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Yash Dayal both proving expensive. Bhuvneshwar has conceded at an economy of 10.46 in overs 16-20. For Dayal, it is 13.33, while Romario Shepherd has an economy rate of 12. Hazlewood in comparsion boasts of conceding only 9 runs per over.
If Shreyas and Co can navigate the overs from Hazlewood, then RCB could be very vulnerable. The Punjab Kings did so with Jasprit Bumrah on Sunday and a similar show could hand them the upper hand in the IPL 2025 Final.
Flaky middle order
Rajat Patidar has had a horror past few games, having struggled with injury. Mayank Agarwal has not fully delivered as Devdutt Padikkal’s replacement, while Liam Livingstone has been out of form. Tim David’s fitness is also a concern. While they have turned up in moments, RCB’s top order has been their main run-getters. With Chahal fit and likely to play, RCB’s middle order will have to turn up. Should RCB’s openers falter Punjab would hope to pile the pressure on in the middle overs and get the desired result.
The post Dependence on Virat Kohli and death bowling woes – How PBKS can exploit RCB in IPL 2025 Final appeared first on Inside Sport India.