IPL Qualifier 1: RCB wins the toss, opt to bowl against PBKS; Hazlewood returns to Bengaluru attack

Royal Challengers Bengaluru captain Rajat Patidar won the toss and opted to bowl against Punjab Kings in the Qualifier 1 of the 18th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in Mullanpur on Thursday. Punjab and Bengaluru will step into the stadium with eyes fixated on victory. The winner of the high-stakes fixture will directly qualify for the final, while the losing side will get a second shot on Sunday in Qualifier 2.

Bengaluru scripted a record-chase heist in the final group stage game against Lucknow Super Giants to finish second in the standings and set a date with Punjab in the Qualifier 1. However, it has been 40 days since Bengaluru last played a fixture in Mullanpur, and they savoured defeat in their last appearance at the venue.

Meanwhile, Punjab Kings qualified for the playoffs for the first time in 11 years. The Ricky Ponting-Shreyas Iyer duo blew away the opposition with their sheer swagger. They defied the full-purring Mumbai Indians to finish at the top of the table and maintain their charge for the title.

Patidar returned to lead Bengaluru since sustaining a finger injury. Australian quick Josh Hazlewood returned to the pace attack for the first time since the tournament resumption. Meanwhile, Punjab Kings replaced Marco Jansen, who left the camp to link with the South African team for the World Test Championship final on June 11, with Azmatullah Omarzai.

After winning the toss, Royal Challengers Bengaluru captain Rajat Patidar outlined the reason behind his decision and said, "We will bowl first. The wicket looks very hard, has a decent covering of grass and will try to maximise the first few overs. Everyone gave more than 100 per cent in the last game. Jitesh, Salt and Kohli were tremendous. One change for us. Hazlewood comes in place of Thushara."

Punjab Kings skipper Shreyas Iyer revealed that he would have opted to bowl if he had won the toss and said, "Would have bowled first as well. If you look at the record here, teams batting first have done well, so I am optimistic. They (the crowd) have been tremendous, and you need such a kind of vibration when you enter the ground, and it gives us a lot of energy as well. The way they (openers) have been showing the fearless approach and the attitude has been brilliant. Marco goes out, and Azmatullah comes in for him."

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (Playing XI): Virat Kohli, Philip Salt, Rajat Patidar(c), Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma(w), Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yash Dayal, Josh Hazlewood, Suyash Sharma

Punjab Kings (Playing XI): Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh, Josh Inglis(w), Shreyas Iyer(c), Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Azmatullah Omarzai, Harpreet Brar, Arshdeep Singh, Kyle Jamieson. (ANI)