Punjab Kings faced defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru in their 13th match of the ongoing IPL 2026 season on Sunday, May 17, and suffered a defeat by 23 runs. In reply to RCB’s total of 222/4 in 20 overs at Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala, Punjab Kings could only manage to score 199 runs for the loss of eight wickets.
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The defeat against RCB in front of home fans on Sunday was PBKS’ sixth straight loss in this year’s IPL. But despite that, they remain fourth in the IPL 2026 points table with 13 points from 13 matches.
IPL 2026 points table after PBKS vs RCB match on May 17
| POSITION | TEAM | MATCHES | WINS | DEFEATS | NO RESULT | POINTS | NRR |
| 1. | Royal Challengers Bengaluru (Q) | 13 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 18 | 1.065 |
| 2. | Gujarat Titans | 13 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 16 | 0.400 |
| 3. | Sunrisers Hyderabad | 12 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 14 | 0.331 |
| 4. | Punjab Kings | 13 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 13 | 0.227 |
| 5. | Rajasthan Royals | 11 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 12 | 0.082 |
| 6. | Chennai Super Kings | 12 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 12 | 0.027 |
| 7. | Kolkata Knight Riders | 12 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 11 | -0.038 |
| 8. | Delhi Capitals | 12 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 10 | -0.993 |
| 9. | Mumbai Indians (E) | 12 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 8 | -0.504 |
| 10. | Lucknow Super Giants (E) | 12 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 6 | 0.701 |
However, despite being in the top four at the end of 61 matches of IPL 2026, PBKS
are not guaranteed to finish in the top four at the end of the league stage.
PBKS will drop to 5th position in the position table if the Rajasthan Royals defeat the Delhi Capitals at Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Sunday night. And further slip to 6th if Chennai Super Kings get the better of Sunrisers Hyderabad in their 13th league match on Monday (May 18).
But if both RR and CSK lose, then PBKS will remain fourth in the points table.
Despite losing six matches in a row now, PBKS are very much alive in the IPL 2026 play-off race.
Punjab Kings will finish in the top four and feature in the IPL 2026 playoffs if they manage to get the better of Lucknow Super Giants in their last league match and not more than three teams finish with 15 or more points.
But if Shreyas Iyer’s men lose against LSG at Ekana Stadium in Lucknow on Saturday (May 23), then they will certainly finish outside the top four and won’t qualify for the playoffs for the second season in a row.
RCB 1st team to qualify for playoffs
By getting the better of Punjab Kings in Dharamsala on Sunday, RCB confirmed their place in the playoffs. They are the first team in IPL 2026 to officially qualify for the playoffs. They are guaranteed to finish in the top two if they win their last league match against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Friday (May 22).
