RCB make first final since 2016 in Qualifier 1 rout after Punjab collapse for 101; Hazlewood, Suyash shineOn a night when Punjab Kings (PBKS) needed to bring out their best, they unfortunately delivered their worst, much to the disappointment of fans who turned up in large numbers at the Mullanpur Stadium.
Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Put in to bat by a fired-up Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in Qualifier 1 on Thursday, PBKS collapsed spectacularly, being bowled out for a paltry 101 in just 14.1 overs.
Who's that IPL player?Josh Hazlewood, marking his return to the IPL, impressed with figures of 3/21 in 3.1 overs while young leg-spinner Suyash Sharma delivered a fabulous spell, taking 3/17 in his three overs. Between them, they snared six wickets for just 38 runs, breaking the back of Punjab’s batting.
Chasing the modest target, explosive English opener Phil Salt smashed an unbeaten 56 off just 27 balls (6x4, 3x6), reaching his fifty in just 23 deliveries. RCB needed only 10 overs to wrap up a dominant eight-wicket win. It was a completely one-sided contest.
Shaking off any fatigue from their last league match in Lucknow just 48 hours prior, RCB stormed into their first IPL final in nine years. The 2025 final, scheduled for next Tuesday in Ahmedabad, will be their first appearance in the summit clash since 2016, and the celebrations in Bengaluru for a potential maiden IPL title have likely already begun.
PBKS, playing in the IPL playoffs for the first time since 2014, must quickly recover from this mauling as they face the winner of the Mumbai Indians vs Gujarat Titans Eliminator on Sunday.
Failing to adapt to a pitch that offered some help to the seamers, Punjab’s batters showed poor shot selection and slumped to 48/4 in the Powerplay, a phase they have dominated throughout this season, thanks largely to openers Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh.
Yash Dayal (2/26 in four overs) struck the first blow by removing Arya, who drove loosely to cover in the second over. Prabhsimran (18 off 10 balls, 2x4, 1x6) played in a typically aggressive fashion but edged one after stepping out to Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
Captain Shreyas Iyer (2) played a reckless swipe off Hazlewood and was caught behind. Iyer has managed only 27 runs across five innings on the seamer-friendly Mullanpur pitch this season. Australian ’keeper-batter Josh Inglis, fresh off a 73 against Mumbai, also fell to Hazlewood, top-edging a pull that was well caught by Bhuvneshwar at deep fine leg. At 38/4 in the sixth over, PBKS were already in free fall.
Nehal Wadhera (8) inside edged a drive off Dayal, making it 50/5. Then came the turn of 22-year-old leg-spinner Suyash Sharma to shine. Having conceded 0/39 in his last outing, he bounced back in style by removing Shashank Singh (3), Musheer Khan (0, lbw), and Marcus Stoinis (26 off 17, 2x4, 2x6), the only PBKS batter who put up any resistance. All three fell attempting the slog sweep as Suyash unleashed a flurry of masterful googlies.
Romario Shepherd then uprooted Harpreet Brar’s off stump with a snorter, in a dismissal reminiscent of classic West Indies pace intimidation. Fittingly, RCB closed the innings when Hazlewood claimed Azmatullah Omarzai (18 off 12), brilliantly caught by a diving Jitesh Sharma.
RCB have now won all eight away games this season.
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