Punjab Kings (PBKS) are having a horror run in the second half of the IPL 2026 tournament. They had started the tournament well, winning 6 out of their first seven games, with one game washed out due to rain.

However, since then, they have gone on to lose their next six straight matches, which has left the team, which was once primed to qualify for the playoffs, now teetering on the brink of elimination.

Their sixth straight loss came at the hands of Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on May 17, 2026, in Dharamshala. PBKS captain Shreyas Iyer had won the toss and chosen to bowl first. But then RCB posted 222/4 in 20 overs, with Virat Kohli (58), Devdutt Padikkal (45), and Venkatesh Iyer (73*) being the main scorers.

In response, Shashank Singh scored 56, while Cooper Connolly and Marcus Stoinis both made 37 each, but PBKS could only muster 199/8 in 20 overs and lost the game by 23 runs. With this win, RCB became the first team to qualify for the playoffs.

After the match, the RCB X account had a little fun at the expense of the Punjab Kings, as it trolled them for their loss.

“It’s okay, guys…. But don’t do it again!" They posted and then followed it up with another post saying, “Masterclass! What Not to Tweet 101," referring to Punjab’s earlier viral social media post.  

The posts were connected to an old PBKS tweet that went viral earlier in the season, in which the team's administrator posted a score update of "49/1 (4.3 overs)," a blatant jab at RCB's notorious lowest IPL total of 49 all out.  Although that tweet was perceived as making fun of RCB, it became a talking point when Punjab's performance declined.

PBKS now has one more game in its hand and has 13 points from 13 games thus far. They will need to win that match and hope that other teams lose for them to qualify for the playoffs.