IPL 2025 final, RCB vs PBKS; Five key battles to watch out

Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Punjab Kings play the final of IPL 2025 in Ahmedabad tonight (June 3). Here are the key battles to watch out for.

Battle of the captains

Punjab Kings defeated Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the first meeting of IPL 2025. Rajat Patidar hit back with two back-to-back wins, including the Qualifier 1 game last week.

Shreyas Iyer led Mumbai in the final of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024 and defeated Madhya Pradesh, led by Rajat Patidar.

Who's going to outsmart the other?

Battle of the best buddies

Yuzvendra Chahal played 113 matches for Royal Challengers Bengaluru, including the final of IPL 2016, under Virat Kohli's captaincy. Chahal missed the Qualifier 1 game due to injury. His battle against Virat Kohli will dictate the tempo of the middle overs.

Virat Kohli vs Yuzvendra Chahal, Head-to-head in IPL

The one dismissal came in last year's eliminator in Ahmedabad.

The powerplay battle

Prabhsimran Singh got out to Bhuvneshwar Kumar in a fascinating phase of play in the Qualifier 1. Prabhsimran smashed a four, missed the next ball and got out off the third ball. Bhuvneshwar Kumar has consistently dominated Prabhsimran Singh in the head-to-head battle.

Prabhsimran vs Bhuvneshwar, Head-to-head in IPL

The Australian battle

Punjab Kings' Josh Inglis may not be the tallest player in the league, but he is one of the best players of the pull shot. RCB's Josh Hazlewood owns the good length and short of good length areas. The battle between the Australians assumes crucial importance.

Inglis vs Hazlewood, Head-to-head in IPL

The major battle

Shreyas Iyer has played three IPL matches in Ahmedabad and made scores of 58* (24), 97* (42) and 87* (41). Josh Hazlewood's previous match in Ahmedabad was the historic 2023 ODI World cup final.

Hazlewood got the better of Shreyas Iyer twice this season and four times in six T20 meetings.

Shreyas vs Hazlewood, Head-to-head in IPL