Phil Salt, the explosive England batter and key player for Royal Challengers Bengaluru, shared his mindset during the chase against Punjab Kings in the first qualifier of the IPL 2025. He revealed that his main focus was to simply avoid getting dismissed by Arshdeep Singh, a bowler who had troubled him throughout the season.
Going into the match, Arshdeep had clearly dominated their recent contests, having dismissed Phil Salt twice in their two previous IPL meetings this year. In fact, Phil Salt has consistently struggled against the Indian pacer across formats, with Arshdeep getting him out four times in nine T20 matches overall.
Determined to change that pattern, Phil Salt approached the qualifier with a clear goal and succeeded. He played a commanding innings, hitting six fours and three sixes, including a solid pull shot off Arshdeep himself. The pacer failed to claim a wicket and conceded 20 runs in his two overs. Phil Salt’s aggressive yet composed performance helped RCB chase down the 102-run target comfortably and secure their spot in the IPL 2025 final.
After the match, Phil Salt admitted that Arshdeep had found different ways to dismiss him in previous games and that avoiding a repeat was a key motivation. He also mentioned telling coach Andy Flower before the match that the team’s travel and break between games might actually help them regain momentum, something he believes is crucial in the final stages of the tournament.
Phil Salt’s innings was vital not just for the match but also in the context of RCB’s season. He is now the team’s second highest run-scorer behind Virat Kohli, having accumulated 387 runs in 12 matches at an average of 35.18 and a striking rate close to 176. In this match, he also crossed 1,000 IPL career runs, reaching the milestone in just 575 balls, the joint-second-fastest alongside Australian batter Travis Head.
In his IPL journey so far, Phil Salt has played 33 matches, scoring 1,040 runs at an average of 34.66 and a strike rate of 175.67. RCB will now gear up for the IPL 2025 final, set to take place in Ahmedabad on June 3, where they will face either Punjab Kings, Gujarat Titans or Mumbai Indians.
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