IPL 2025: Nehal Wadhera and bowlers tame Royal Challengers Bengaluru

Bengaluru: Nehal Wadhera struck a composed 33 not out off 19 balls as Punjab Kings held their nerve to beat Royal Challengers Bengaluru by five wickets in a rain-hit, 14-over contest at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Friday.

A two-hour delay had reduced the game to a truncated slugfest, but instead of fireworks, the match turned into a tense, low-scoring scrap. The usually batter-friendly surface played slow and awkward, forcing misjudged shots and nervy moments throughout.

Put in to bat, RCB’s innings unravelled early. Phil Salt miscued a pull and Virat Kohli fell to a mistimed charge—both victims of Arshdeep Singh’s rediscovered rhythm. Arshdeep’s double-strike pushed him past Piyush Chawla as Punjab’s all-time leading IPL wicket-taker, with 86 scalps.

RCB slipped to 63 for 9 by the 12th over, their innings saved only by Tim David’s counterattacking 50 not out off 26 balls. With wickets tumbling around him, David’s clean hitting carried the home side to 95, avoiding what might’ve been their lowest IPL total.

Punjab’s reply began shakily. Arya edged the first boundary over slips and Prabhsimran Singh lived dangerously before falling to Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Josh Hazlewood then tightened the screws, using steep bounce and a sticky surface to remove Arya, Shreyas Iyer and Josh Inglis in a superb spell of 3 for 14.

At 52 for 4, the game hung in the balance. But Wadhera held firm. He worked the angles, waited for loose deliveries, and picked his moments. A lofted six over long-off and a pair of late boundaries broke the back of the chase.

Though Shashank Singh fell with 15 needed off 15, Wadhera’s calm strokeplay brought the target within range. Marcus Stoinis then sealed it with a muscular blow over midwicket, with 11 balls to spare.

Brief scores

Punjab Kings beat Royal Challengers Bengaluru by five wickets. Royal Challengers Bengaluru 95/9 in 14 overs (Tim David 50 not out, Rajat Patidar 23; Marco Jansen 2-10, Yuzvendra Chahal 2-11) PBKS 98/5 in 12.1 overs (Nehal Wadhera 33 not out, Priyansh Arya 16; Josh Hazlewood 3-14, Bhuvneshwar Kumar 2-26).