PBKS vs RCB, IPL 2026: Punjab Kings’ IPL 2026 playoffs chances have been further derailed as they crashed to their sixth straight loss as the venue of Dharamshala proved to be their undoing once for the third time this year. While the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) became the first team to seal a playoffs spot with a 23-run victory in a fairly high-scoring game, Punjab Kings seem to moving away further and further from a Top 4 finish. It’s certainly worth exploring whether or not Punjab Kings still have an opportunity to sneak in a spot in the playoffs.
PBKS vs RCB, IPL 2026: What Shreyas Iyer and co. need to qualify for the playoffs?
Having started their campaign from six wins in the first seven games, Punjab Kings’ performances have significantly dipped, thanks largely to their fielding. Hence, a sixth successive loss means they are still on 13 points. They are still fourth in the points table but their net run-rate has also come down 0.227. Should the Punjab Kings win their final league game against the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at the Ekana Stadium, they’ll finish on 15 points, meaning they need other teams to not overtake them. Since net run-rate could also factor in, Punjab Kings’ big wins earlier in the season could still be enough to get them through.
Should Punjab lose to the Super Giants, they are likely to effectively be knocked out of the tournament. With 13 points under their belt, they are unlikely to get anywhere near the Top 4. To qualify with 13 points, Punjab Kings need the Rajasthan Royals, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) to lose their remaining games, with the Delhi Capitals to win no more than one.
PBKS vs RCB, IPL 2026: No Rajat Patidar, no problem for Royal Challengers Bengaluru as Venkatesh Iyer steps up
The Royal Challengers had suffered a jolt as Rajat Patidar sat out due to concussion, with Jitesh Sharma leading RCB. But Virat Kohli responded with a half-century after Iyer sent the reigning champions into bat despite another failure for Jacob Bethell. Venkatesh Iyer, promoted to No.4, top-scored with 73, while Tim David smashed a 12-ball 28 to take their side to 222/4.
Punjab Kings lost Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh and Shreyas Iyer cheaply in the powerplay itself. The likes of Cooper Connolly (37), Suryansh Shedge (35), Marcus Stoinis (37) and Shashank Singh (56) tried their best but it was not enough to prevent a defeat.
