IPL 2025: Punjab Kings vs Rajasthan Royals, Match 18 - Who Said What?

In the 18th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL), Punjab Kings (PBKS) hosted Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, Mullanpur, Chandigarh. After winning the toss, PBKS chose to bowl, where they restricted RR to 205 runs. The standout performance of Yashasvi Jaiswal helped Rajasthan Royals cross the 200-mark. 

Being unbeaten in two out of the three matches that they have played, the onus was on the Royals' bowlers to make sure that they hand over PBKS their first loss of the tournament, which they did as they won by 50 runs. Jofra Archer stole the spotlight with his remarkable bowling display against the Punjab Kings. 

Talking Points

1. Rajasthan Royals' top order gains momentum

The Rajasthan Royals' success over the Punjab Kings was largely due to the top order finally finding its flow.  After struggling in the IPL 2025 with low scores of 1 against SRH, 29 and 4, Yashasvi Jaiswal finally found his form and gave his team a solid start with a well-crafted 67 off 45 balls that included 3 fours and 5 sixes.  Sanju Samson, the captain, strengthened the base with a consistent 38 off 26 balls.

Riyan Parag made a noteworthy contribution as well, scoring 43 runs with a strike rate of 172 off just 25 balls. Rajasthan's batting lineup presently appears menacing as the top three are playing well and Nitish Rana is settling in at number four. With this solid foundation, the Royals are set to dominate their upcoming matches.

2. Jofra Archer's comeback

Jofra Archer's outstanding bowling performance during the match between PBKS and RR stole the show and gave every Rajasthan Royals supporter precisely what they had been waiting for.  The English pacer returned to form with a bang, taking two vital wickets in his opening over.  He took two wickets for just twenty runs at the end of his four-over stint.

Priyansh Arya was clean bowled for a duck by Archer's opening ball.  Archer struck Shreyas Iyer with a stunning ball that rattled his stumps in the same over, delivering another fatal blow.  By making those two early breakthroughs, Archer prevented any possibility of a comeback by ensuring that PBKS's top order never had a chance to settle.

3. PBKS middle and lower order struggle

When PBKS lost to the Rajasthan Royals, their middle and lower order were a huge source of concern.  None of the other hitters were able to step up and end the game with authority, even though Nihal Wadhera put up a heroic 62-run performance.  With a rapid thirty runs, Glenn Maxwell displayed flashes of genius, but Maheesh Theekshana's ejection of him at a crucial moment put an end to any thoughts of a PBKS comeback, just as they appeared ready to seize the initiative.

 Marcus Stoinis, who only managed 21 runs in his first four games, fell short like in the prior games.  Shashank Singh and Suryansh Shegde, who made up the lower middle order, also struggled to maintain the momentum that Wadhera had established.

Also Read: PBKS vs RR, Match 18: Star Sports scorecard disappears between 13.3 to 15 overs – What happened?

Who Said What?

Sanju Samson, Rajasthan Royals skipper

The way we started in the powerplay, we thought we were running a bit short but the quality of the batters we have got, 205 was a very good score on the board. Very young batting lineup, very young in age but they have played a lot of games for the country. They are managing and playing the game very well. (on Archer and Sandeep) That's a very deadly combo,. one guy bowling at 150 and one guy at 115. (on being told Sandeep hit 130kph) Oh did he? we should cut a cake on that. I can trust them a bit more with the pressure overs. (on Archer) We all love it when he bowls fast. Doing it for me in the last 4 years, he is one of the best guys in India right now bowling fast. We did have a small meeting in the timeout and I suggested they are a quality side and we can't take it easy. Till the last ball is bowled, we can't guarantee a win. We focused on the process and the result took care of itself. We took our time to find out what the best combination and lineups and orders are, injuries we have to take care as this is a long tournament.

Shreyas Iyer, Punjab Kings skipper

(On the performance) To be honest, I was considering around 180-185. That would be good to chase over here, we weren’t able to execute our plans. I’m glad this blip happened early in the tournament. It was a decent pitch, the ball was holding a bit and we were not giving them much pace. (On what went wrong) I felt we could taken it slower and tried to build partnerships, but lots of learning from this game. Today there was no dew as we anticipated, but I feel we need to go back to the drawing board and see the videos where we weren't able to execute with our bowling and batting. We lost back to back wickets as well, which wasn’t ideal as it isn’t easy for new batters. Nehal was phenomenal under pressure. He took some time and then was able to charge the bowlers, make the most of the situation. Need a slight hiccup to wake you up at the start of the tournament. I personally feel this loss will be good and we will need to go back to the drawing board.

Jofra Archer, Player of the Match 

Beginning of the tournament that happened but happy to contribute to the win. When days like this, you make sure you got to cash in, you enjoy the good ones and take the bad ones in your stride. You will be lucky in some circumstances, everyone is training just as hard as you, every day is not going to be a great day. (on if he is West Indian or England) No comment.