Rajasthan Royals beat Punjab Kings by six wickets on Tuesday in a statement win for their IPL 2026 campaign. Riyan Parag’s men not only ended the table-toppers’ unbeaten run in the league, but did so at their home, in New Chandigarh, where they had secured three wins in as many matches in the season.
On a good batting pitch, Jofra Archer and Brijesh Sharma picked timely wickets, and Ravindra Jadeja offered economy as RR kept the last year’s runners-up to a chaseable 222/4. The target would have been much smaller had it not been for Marcus Stoinis’ late flourish with a 22-ball 62.
In the second innings, RR again got off to a good start because of their openers, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Yashasvi Jaiswal. But Yuzvendra Chahal shook up the game with
his three wickets. The match was pretty even when Donovan Ferreira and Shubhman Dubey combined for an unbeaten 77-run stand off 32 balls to win it.
IPL 2026 Points Table updated after PBKS vs RR match on April 28
Punjab Kings remain first with 13 points, but their lead has narrowed, and their net run rate has taken a hit (down to 1.043).
Rajasthan Royals, meanwhile, have strengthened their position in the top three, moving to 12 points from 9 matches and improving their overall standing with a sixth win, which also pushes Sunrisers Hyderabad down a spot despite no change in their own results.
The result tightens the race at the top, with just one point now separating the top three teams.
| POSITION | TEAM | MATCHES | WINS | DEFEATS | NO RESULT | POINTS | NET RUN RATE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Punjab Kings | 8 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 1.043 |
| 2. | Royal Challengers Bengaluru | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 1.919 |
| 3. | Rajasthan Royals | 9 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 12 | 0.617 |
| 4. | Sunrisers Hyderabad | 8 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 0.815 |
| 5. | Gujarat Titans | 8 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 8 | -0.475 |
| 6. | Chennai Super Kings | 8 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 6 | -0.121 |
| 7. | Delhi Capitals | 8 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 6 | -1.060 |
| 8. | Kolkata Knight Riders | 8 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 5 | -0.751 |
| 9. | Mumbai Indians | 7 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 4 | -0.736 |
| 10. | Lucknow Super Giants | 8 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 4 | -1.106 |
Orange Cap
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has surged to No.1 after his 16-ball 43 against the Kings, becoming the first batter to reach 400 runs this season and overtaking Abhishek Sharma. This pushes Abhishek and KL Rahul down a spot each, while the rest of the top five remain unchanged.
Prabhsimran Singh gains ground thanks to his 59 off 44 in the second innings, moving firmly into the top six, while PBKS skipper Shreyas Iyer enters the top 10 list, replacing Sanju Samson.
Orange Cap in IPL 2026
| POSITION | PLAYER | TEAM | MATCHES | RUNS | STRIKE RATE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Vaibhav Sooryavanshi | Rajasthan Royals | 9 | 400 | 238.09 |
| 2. | Abhishek Sharma | Sunrisers Hyderabad | 8 | 380 | 212.29 |
| 3. | KL Rahul | Delhi Capitals | 8 | 358 | 185.49 |
| 4. | Virat Kohli | Royal Challengers Bengaluru | 8 | 351 | 162.50 |
| 5. | Heinrich Klaasen | Sunrisers Hyderabad | 8 | 349 | 149.78 |
| 6. | Prabhsimran Singh | Punjab Kings | 8 | 346 | 179.27 |
| 7. | Shubman Gill | Gujarat Titans | 7 | 330 | 148.64 |
| 8. | Sai Sudharsan | Gujarat Titans | 8 | 322 | 163.45 |
| 9. | Ishan Kishan | Sunrisers Hyderabad | 8 | 312 | 198.72 |
| 10. | Shreyas Iyer | Punjab Kings | 8 | 309 | 174.57 |
Purple Cap
The key shift comes from Rajasthan Royals, with Jofra Archer moving up into a share of the top spot after picking up another wicket to reach 14, bringing him level with Bhuvneshwar Kumar and tightening the race for the Purple Cap.
This also pushes Anshul Kamboj and Eshan Malinga down a place each. The rest of the standings remain largely stable, with no new entrants, but Archer’s rise adds further weight to Rajasthan’s growing influence across both batting and bowling charts following their win over PBKS.
Purple Cap in IPL 2026
| POSITION | PLAYER | TEAM | MATCHES | WICKETS | ECONOMY RATE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Bhuvneshwar Kumar | Royal Challengers Bengaluru | 8 | 14 | 7.61 |
| 2. | Jofra Archer | Rajasthan Royals | 9 | 14 | 8.27 |
| 3. | Anshul Kamboj | Chennai Super Kings | 8 | 14 | 8.56 |
| 4. | Eshan Malinga | Sunrisers Hyderabad | 8 | 14 | 9.44 |
| 5. | Prince Yadav | Lucknow Super Giants | 8 | 13 | 8.06 |
| 6. | Kagiso Rabada | Gujarat Titans | 8 | 13 | 9.48 |
| 7. | Prasidh Krishna | Gujarat Titans | 7 | 12 | 10.34 |
| 8. | Ravi Bishnoi | Rajasthan Royals | 8 | 11 | 9.54 |
| 9. | Mohsin Khan | Lucknow Super Giants | 4 | 9 | 6.37 |
| 10. | Krunal Pandya | Royal Challengers Bengaluru | 8 | 9 | 8.85 |
