The rivalry between Punjab Kings vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru has witnessed several exhilarating encounters with nail-biting finishes, memorable moments, and copious amounts of drama. Punjab played its first match against Bengaluru on the 5th of May, 2008, at M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru. Since that day, Punjab and Royals have fostered the spirit of pure competition, with aggressive and big performances from players across franchises. They have played 33 matches against one another, Punjab narrowly edges Bengaluru; Punjab has 17 wins and Bengaluru 16. Both teams have continued to perform and dazzle their fans; the fighting chronology of Punjab Kings vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru Timeline traces their rivalry aspects present in their competitions.
Early Encounters: 2008- 2018
- KXIP vs RCB 2008 – The first encounter between RCB and KXIP took place in Bangalore on 5 May 2008. Royals, who won the toss and decided to bat first, were bundled out by the Kings’ bowlers for a paltry 126 runs. Punjab easily chased down the target by losing just 4 wickets in 18.2 overs.
In the 34th Match of the inaugural IPL season, Punjab gave a 9-wicket defeat to RCB. Shaun Marsh was awarded Player of the Match for an unbeaten 74 from 51 balls.
- RCB vs KXIP 2009 – On 1 May 2009, RCB and KXIP (PBKS) clashed in the 24th Match of the 2009 IPL season at Durban. An 8-run victory was claimed by the Royals over Punjab. The Royals put up a below-par target of 146 for the Kings. Punjab, with a solid 50 by Yuvraj Singh, looked to have comfortably reached the target, but eventually fell short of the target by 8 runs.
- KXIP vs RCB 2011- In Dharamsala, Adam Gilchrist’s century laid the foundation for a 111-run victory for the Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) over the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). Piyush Chawla picked 4 for 17 and Ryan Harris claimed 3 for 28, further embellishing Punjab’s triumph.
- KXIP vs RCB 2016- The tension-packed and crunch clash of the 39th match of the 2016 IPL season between Bangalore and Punjab at Mohali ended in an RCB victory by one run. The Royal Challengers batted first and set 176 as a target, with AB de Villiers scoring 64 runs off 35 balls. Kings batted well but fell short by just a single run in the chase, and Murali Vijay’s 89 off 57 balls went in vain.
- RCB vs KXIP 2018- In the 48th match of the IPL 2018 season, Bangalore defeated Punjab by 10 wickets. Punjab gave a mere 88 runs target to Bangalore to win, which RCB achieved in 8.1 overs without losing a wicket. The two best knocks of the match were 48 off 28 balls by Virat Kohli and 40 off 20 balls by Parthiv Patel. Umesh Yadav was adjudged the Player of the Match for his superb bowling.
Punjab Kings vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru: 2018-2025
- RCB vs PBKS 2019- AB de Villiers back during the innings of RCB with 82 not out, setting up a formidable target in Match No. 42 of the 2019 season on the home ground of Bangalore. RCB won the match by 17 runs, after the Kings failed to chase down the 203-run target set by the Royals.
- PBKS vs RCB– The RCB lost by 9 wickets in the very first match between PBKS and RCB of the IPL season 2020. They set a target of 207 running into KXIP after an unbeatable knock of 136 runs from 69 balls by KL Rahul. While trying for a run-chase, the batting line-up of RCB gave up against the strong spell of Punjab bowlers.
- RCB vs PBKS 2022– Punjab Kings put up a target of 209/9 batting first in Mumbai on 13th May 2022, with Liam Livingstone and Jonny Bairstow producing innings of 70 and 66 runs, respectively. Harshal Patel dismissed 4 batters for 34 runs, but he stood alone in RCB’s bowling lineup. Bengaluru started the run chase well, but due to a middle-order collapse dismissed for a mere 155/9, and PBKS won by 54 runs.
- RCB vs PBKS 2024- The 6th match of the 2024 season was staged at M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru, between PBKS and RCB. RCB bagged the win by 4 wickets in this match. Batted first, Punjab set a target of 177, and RCB achieved it in 19.2 overs. The chase was led by Kohli, who was awarded Player of the Match for his 77 runs.
- RCB vs PBKS 2025- In the ongoing IPL season, RCB and Punjab dragged their toes in the 34th Match, which the Kings won by 5 wickets. Bangalore had a huge blow early in the game when Virat and Phil fell early, and RCB accumulated just 95 runs. Punjab finished the formalities in 12.1 overs to register a 5-wicket victory.
RCB vs PBKS Head to Head Records from 2008 to 2025
| Category | RCB | PBKS |
| Matches Played | 35 | 35 |
| Won | 17 | 18 |
| Lost | 18 | 17 |
| No Result | 0 | 0 |
| Highest Score | 241 | 232 |
| Lowest Score | 84 | 88 |
RCB vs PBKS All Match Results from 2008 to 2025
| Year | Match Result 1 | Match Result 2 |
| 2025 | Punjab Kings won by 5 wickets | Royal Challengers Bengaluru won by 7 wickets |
| 2024 | Royal Challengers Bengaluru won by 4 wickets | Royal Challengers Bengaluru won by 60 runs |
| 2023 | Royal Challengers Bangalore won by 24 runs | – |
| 2022 | Punjab Kings won by 5 wickets | Punjab Kings won by 54 runs |
| 2021 | Punjab Kings won by 34 runs | Royal Challengers Bangalore won by 6 runs |
| 2020 | Kings XI Punjab won by 97 runs | Kings XI Punjab won by 8 wickets |
| 2019 | Royal Challengers Bangalore won by 8 wickets | Royal Challengers Bangalore won by 17 runs |
| 2018 | Royal Challengers Bangalore won by 4 wickets | Royal Challengers Bangalore won by 10 wickets |
| 2017 | Kings XI Punjab won by 8 wickets | Kings XI Punjab won by 19 runs |
| 2016 | Royal Challengers Bangalore won by 1 run | Royal Challengers Bangalore won by 82 runs |
| 2015 | Royal Challengers Bangalore won by 138 runs | Kings XI Punjab won by 22 runs |
| 2014 | Kings XI Punjab won by 5 wickets | Kings XI Punjab won by 32 runs |
| 2013 | Kings XI Punjab won by 6 wickets | Kings XI Punjab won by 7 wickets |
| 2012 | Royal Challengers Bangalore won by 5 wickets | Kings XI Punjab won by 4 wickets |
| 2011 | Royal Challengers Bangalore won by 85 runs | Kings XI Punjab won by 111 runs |
| 2010 | Royal Challengers Bangalore won by 8 wickets | Royal Challengers Bangalore won by 6 wickets |
| 2009 | Kings XI Punjab won by 7 wickets | Royal Challengers Bangalore won by 8 runs |
| 2008 | Kings XI Punjab won by 6 wickets | Kings XI Punjab won by 9 wickets |
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