Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) became the first team to qualify for the IPL 2026 playoffs after beating Punjab Kings (PBKS) by 23 runs at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamsala, on Sunday (May 17). Virat Kohli and Venkatesh Iyer hit half-centuries in the first innings to help the visitors score 222/4 in the first 20 overs, which they comfortably defended, thanks to an all-round bowling effort.
Chasing a stiff target of 223, Punjab Kings had a shaky beginning as RCB’s pace attack kept their batters under the pump through the first 10 overs.
PBKS suffered an early blow when seasoned seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar dismissed Priyansh Arya in the opening over, immediately putting the hosts on the back foot.
With the asking rate hovering
around 11 an over right from the start, Punjab’s batters had to go on the offensive, but RCB’s disciplined bowling and sharp fielding prevented the home side from gaining any real momentum.
Cooper Connolly and Prabhsimran Singh tried to hit back with a flurry of boundaries, yet the visitors kept striking at crucial moments.
Prabhsimran flung his bat at a Bhuvneshwar delivery well outside off, only to edge it to Devdutt at slip. Skipper Shreyas Iyer also fell inside the Power Play.
After racing to 35 off 22 balls, Suryansh Shedge miscued a fairly harmless delivery from Suyash Sharma to long-off, where Kohli took a flat, tidy catch.
Shashank, however, kept the chase alive with aggressive strokeplay, including three sixes in a single over off Suyash, while Jacob Bethell dropped Marcus Stoinis on 22, allowing the latter to find boundaries freely and keep PBKS in contention.
But Josh Hazlewood returned to remove Stoinis (37 off 25) with a full toss that the batter failed to dispatch.
Shashank continued to fight for PBKS as Bhuvneshwar, who had conceded just 8 runs in his first spell, leaked 30 in his final two overs.
Shashank’s knock eventually ended in the last over, with PBKS still needing 33 runs.
Earlier, in a must-win clash for PBKS to stay alive in the playoff race, Venkatesh stole the show with a blistering innings after Kohli and Devdutt laid a strong platform with a commanding 76-run stand for the second wicket.
Following the early dismissal of Jacob Bethell to Harpreet Brar, RCB regrouped impressively through Kohli and Devdutt, who kept the scoreboard moving with a mix of boundaries and clever strike rotation on a batting-friendly pitch.
Kohli looked in majestic form, using the pace of Arshdeep Singh and Lockie Ferguson to his advantage, while Devdutt countered both pace and spin to ensure Punjab’s bowlers never found a consistent rhythm.
Kohli’s trademark wristy flicks and Devdutt’s lofty strokes maintained the scoring rate above 10 an over during the first half of the innings.
At 101 for 2, RCB were in a strong position at the midway mark, with Kohli anchoring one end and Venkatesh joining him after Devdutt’s dismissal.
Kohli, who brought up his 67th IPL fifty off 31 balls, was caught in the deep after failing to clear the field against Yuzvendra Chahal (1/42), who had earlier gone for 21 in his first over.
Venkatesh then took charge in the middle overs, tightening RCB’s grip on the game by clouting Lockie Ferguson for sixes over long-off and long-on, pushing RCB to 187 for 3 after 17 overs.
Continuing his aggressive intent against both pace and spin, Venkatesh peppered the HPCA ground with boundaries, while the powerful Tim David attacked from the outset in his customary fashion.
Though Punjab managed to check the scoring slightly after the strategic timeout, RCB still held the upper hand going into the death overs with plenty of wickets in hand.
(With PTI inputs)
