IPL 2025: PBKS captain Shreyas Iyer wins toss, opts to bowl against RCB

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India] April 18 (ANI): Punjab Kings (PBKS) skipper Shreyas Iyer won the toss and opted to bowl first against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) match at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
The match started late due to rain.
RCB are placed at No. 3 on the points table, while PBKS find themselves at No. 4. Both teams have four wins and two defeats after playing six games each.
However, RCB's net run rate is slightly better than PBKS's. Both teams are entering this clash on the back of significant victories. A comprehensive win for either side might even push them to the top of the table.
"We will bowl first. It's a good ground to chase, and it's a rain-interrupted game, overs have been reduced, will have a fair idea of how the wicket will play, and that was always the plan. Stoinis comes in for Maxwell, and Harpreet Brar is in. We need to have the right players at the right place, especially the angles," Shreyas Iyer said after winning the toss.
"We will bowl first. It's a good ground to chase and it's a rain-interrupted game, overs have been reduced, will have a fair idea of how the wicket will play and that was always the pln. Stoinis comes in for Maxwell, and Harpreet Brar is in. We need to have the right players at the right place, especially the angles," said RCB captain Rajat Patidar said.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (Playing XI): Philip Salt, Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar(c), Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma(w), Tim David, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Suyash Sharma, Yash Dayal.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru Impact Subs: Devdutt Padikkal, Rasikh Dar Salam, Manoj Bhandage, Jacob Bethell, Swapnil Singh.
Punjab Kings (Playing XI): Priyansh Arya, Nehal Wadhera, Shreyas Iyer(c), Shashank Singh, Josh Inglis(w), Marcus Stoinis, Marco Jansen, Harpreet Brar, Xavier Bartlett, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal.
Punjab Kings Impact Subs: Prabhsimran Singh, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Suryansh Shedge, Glenn Maxwell, Praveen Dubey. (ANI)