PBKS remain on 13 points and no longer control their own fate.
Punjab Kings (PBKS) suffered sixth successive defeat in the ongoing IPL season on Sunday (May 17), losing to Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) by 23 runs in Dharamsala.
Invited to bat first, RCB racked up a massive 222/4 in 20 overs. Virat Kohli laid the platform with a fine half-century (58 off 37) and a 76-run stand with Devdutt Padikkal (45 off 25), while Venkatesh Iyer (73* off 40) and Tim David (28 off 12) provided a blockbuster finish to the innings.
In response, a collapsing top-order left PBKS reeling early at 19/3. Despite a valiant middle-order counter-attack, the hosts were restricted to 199/8. Rasikh Salam Dar (3-36), Bhuvneshwar Kumar (2-38) and Josh Hazlewood (1-36) delivered impactful spells for RCB.
With this outcome, RCB became the first team to qualify for the IPL 2026 playoffs while PBKS remain on 13 points and no longer control their own fate. The Shreyas Iyer-led side not only need to win their last league fixture, but also need a few other results to go their way to make the playoffs.
Speaking after the loss, skipper Shreyas noted that the game slipped away during the powerplay, citing RCB's strong start and early wickets during the chase.
“Obviously, they got off to a great start and then started taking on the bowlers right after the powerplay. I think getting to 222 was a commendable performance and we weren’t able to take wickets in the bowling that much, but yeah, I think the match was lost in the powerplay,” Shreyas said at the post-match presentation.
“We were three down and the majority of our run scorers were Prabhsimran and Priyansh. The starts they used to give us in the powerplay, obviously we couldn’t get this time and also me coming in and getting out early. Really disappointed,” he added.
Shashank Singh (56), Marcus Stoinis (37), Cooper Connolly (37) and Suryansh Shedge (35) chipped in with handy knocks to save PBKS’ blushes.
Praising the contributions of middle-order, Iyer stated: “Commendable performance by Shashank and Stoinis and also a few others in the middle. I think we were up there with almost 10 an over, but yeah, fell short. Tremendous bowling by Bhuvi and Hazlewood.”
Punjab Kings will face Lucknow Super Giants in their last league match at Ekana Cricket Stadium on May 23.
Despite their playoff qualifications in serious jeopardy, Shreyas Iyer maintained a highly optimistic, forward-looking mindset.
“(On staying positive ahead of the next game against Lucknow) No, definitely. I’m always positive irrespective of the results. It doesn’t dictate how my personality is and I always approach with a strong attitude. I’m not someone who dwells too much in the past. This is over, this is gone. Tomorrow again I’m going to see the sunrise and there’s always light at the end of the tunnel,” he concluded.