PBKS topped the table in the group stage, and it is not without merit. Their showing in the first stage was truly dominant, being the manifestation of consistent excellence attained. The Punjab Kings will take on the Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Qualifier 1 on May 29 for the opportunity to make it to the final of IPL 2025. They are the favourites—and rightly so. From a player perspective alone, PBKS is stronger than RCB. Kohli-Salt ? The openers may tip on the side of Kohli and Salt for RCB, but if you take a look past that down into the top order, PBKS are right there, if not better. Captain Shreyas Iyer usually bats at number three and adds an enormous amount of strength to their lineup. When Prabhsimran Singh’s reliability is coupled with Iyer’s power and Priyansh Arya, on many occasions, PBKS top order more than matches that of RCB. RCB’s third-year Mayank Agarwal did well against LSG but remains the weakest of the six. RCB’s injury & middle-order Issues: Beyond Rajat Patidar, RCB has no stable middle-order men. Patidar is out of form, wasn't present in the last match, and hasn't gone 25-plus since April 7. Jitesh Sharma played a brilliant innings, but he is a finisher just like Tim David and Romario Shepherd. David's fitness is also in doubt. On the other side of the fence, PBKS has Josh Inglis and Nehal Wadhera in the middle, both in grand IPL form. To match RCB's finishers, they will bring Marcus Stoinis in, who hammered 44 off 16 balls against Delhi Capitals, and Shashank Singh, one of the best finishers in the league. PBKS's Yuzvendra Chahal hasn't had a great season and maybe injured, but he still has 9 more wickets than RCB's Suyash Sharma. Although Suyash bowls more economically, he does not take wickets. Krunal Pandya does give RCB a slight edge over Harpreet Brar in terms of all-round batting. Marco Jansen missing, Hazlewood’s fitness: RCB’s pace attack is primarily built around Josh Hazlewood. Bhuvneshwar Kumar has only taken 2 wickets at an incredible economy rate of 72 in 3 games since May. Yash Dayal has somehow fared even worse with just a single wicket at an economy of 121 in that same period, and Hazlewood hasn’t played since April 27 and still has question marks surrounding his match fitness. Lungi Ngidi’s return to fitness may help this situation. Also Read: PBKS vs RCB Qualifier 1 Preview - Venue, Squads & More PBKS’s Arshdeep Singh hasn’t been at his best in recent weeks, however he is still one of the top five bowlers with the bat in hand. Marco Jansen is back for PBKS and appears fully fit and firing. Jamieson, Omarzai, and Bartlett are all options, however Jansen is a clear number one. Vijaykumar Vyshak has also done a nice job as a third pacer, so there is little need for concern. Overall, it’s possible that PBKS is only marginally behind in terms of spin talent, and that’s debatable. PBKS may find this effort matched up in terms of seaside attacks, basted on Hazlewood’s loud fitness. And in terms of batting tilts, PBKS has a definitive lead clear and a mile ahead.