The champions of last season got their ticket to the playoffs, but the free-fall of the runners-up continued.
The Royal Challengers Bengaluru picked up a healthy 23-run victory over Punjab Kings in Dharamsala on Sunday to become the first team to qualify for the playoffs of IPL 2026.
But it’s Punjab who would be the topic of discussion despite their loss. The Shreyas Iyer-led team, who had seemed unstoppable in the first half of the tournament, have had a dramatic fall in the second phase as they have now suffered six straight defeats.
It’s quite weird, given how confident and able the team looked even a few days back.
However, Punjab’s loss would be welcomed by the other contenders for the playoffs. Punjab have 13 points from as many games and, with just one more game to go, they can reach a maximum of 15. While they can still somehow qualify for the business end, the chances of them missing out are also high.
The Sunrisers Hyderabad, Rajasthan Royals, Chennai Super Kings and also the Kolkata Knight Riders will be happy with the result as it increases their qualifying chances. The Knights, however, are in the worst position with the least number of points (11) and a negative net run-rate. But, it’s not impossible.
Coming back to the match in Dharamsala on Sunday, RCB dominated right through to emerge victorious.
Venkatesh Iyer, promoted up the order in the absence of skipper Rajat Patidar, topped the RCB batting charts with an innings of 73 not out off 40 balls. Contributions from Virat Kohli (58 off 37 balls) and Devdutt Padikkal (45 off 25 balls) also helped the team maintain momentum right through their innings. Then, a late charge from Tim David (28 off 12 balls) saw RCB finish on a formidable 222/4.
Punjab’s chase was as good as over when they lost three of their best batters inside four overs. Bhuvneshwar Kumar removed openers Prabhsimran Singh and Priyansh Arya, while Punjab captain Shreyas Iyer fell to Rasikh Salam.
Punjab tried to counterattack with Cooper Connolly, Suryansh Shedge, Marcus Stoinis and Shashank Singh, but it was too late, too little as they could manage 199/8 in 20 overs.