Royal Challengers Bengaluru staged a remarkable resurrection on Easter Sunday, claiming a decisive seven-wicket victory against Punjab Kings at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Stadium—avenging their five-wicket defeat from Good Friday.
The visitors first contained PBKS to a manageable 157 for six before Virat Kohli (73 not out) and impact substitute Devdutt Padikkal (61) dominated proceedings with a game-changing 103-run partnership for the second wicket.
Jithesh Sharma sealed RCB’s fifth consecutive away win in IPL 2025 with a flourish, pulling Nehal Wadhera over midwicket for six to complete the comfortable chase.
Though Arshdeep Singh briefly raised Punjab’s hopes by removing Phil Salt (1) early, Padikkal responded with aggressive intent against the bowling attack. He began with an uppercut boundary off Arshdeep before launching Xavier Bartlett over long-on for six.
Punjab’s spin duo of Harpreet Brar and Yuzvendra Chahal struggled to make any impact as both Kohli and Padikkal played assertive cricket. Brar, introduced in the final powerplay over, conceded boundaries to both batsmen, while Chahal watched helplessly as Padikkal dispatched him for a six over long-on. Kohli complemented this approach with calculated aggression, gradually increasing the scoring rate as their partnership steadily took the game beyond PBKS’s reach.
Earlier in the match, Punjab Kings failed to capitalize on a promising start, limping to a non-threatening total of 157 for six. RCB’s spinners proved decisive as Krunal Pandya (2-25) and Suyash Sharma (2-26) stifled the PBKS batting lineup during the middle overs, triggering a collapse from 62-1 to 114-6.
The hosts had initially started brightly with Prabhsimran Singh racing to a 17-ball 33, featuring five boundaries and a six. However, his dismissal to Krunal marked the beginning of Punjab’s decline. Some late resistance came through an unbroken 43-run seventh-wicket partnership between Shanshak Singh (31 not out) and Marco Jansen (25 not out), but their efforts proved insufficient against a determined RCB unit.