The timing is perfect for Royal Challengers Bengaluru to get into the playoffs in IPL 2026. The team led by Rajat Patidar tops the tables currently, and all they need is a single victory against Punjab
Kings in Match 61 played at Dharamshala on Sunday in order to reach the playoffs. This timing couldn’t have been any better. Once a strong team, Punjab has struggled lately, winning just two out of eight games and losing five consecutive matches. As a result, they have fallen prey to their weakness in all areas of the game, including the bowling line-up, fielding, and batting.
There are three weaknesses which Punjab has been suffering from lately – losing plenty of runs in the last few overs of the match, dropping numerous catches, and finding it hard to bounce back when the top-order batsmen fall early. Against such a team in the current state, there is no one better than RCB who has Virat Kohli scoring his usual big runs and Josh Hazlewood leading the bowling attack.
1. Fragile Death Bowling
Punjab’s biggest concern is their inability to close out innings. They have the worst death-overs economy rate in IPL 2026, conceding 11.66 runs per over in overs 16 to 20. During their five-match losing streak, that number has climbed to 14. The issue starts with role changes. Arshdeep Singh, usually Punjab’s best death bowler, has been used more in the Powerplay and has bowled only nine overs at the death all season. That has left Marco Jansen and Xavier Bartlett with too much responsibility. Both have struggled for consistency and missed their yorkers under pressure.
RCB’s finishers can exploit that. If Kohli and Patidar build a base, batters like Tim David and Jitesh Sharma can attack a bowling unit that has repeatedly failed to defend winning positions.
2. Poor Fielding Record
Fielding for Punjab has only made matters worse for themselves. Punjab has dropped the most catches of 18 in a season, with their fielding accuracy at around 70 percent. The errors in the field have been highly detrimental. In the match against Sunrisers Hyderabad, dropped catches resulted in match-winning innings from Heinrich Klaasen and Ishan Kishan. Head coach of Punjab Ricky Ponting noted that fielding was "like a virus" spreading within the team. The captain, Shreyas Iyer, noted that the team was making 30-40 runs extra per game.
This offers a significant advantage to RCB. The fast outfield in Dharamshala requires players to score runs off the bat. Kohli, Patidar and Bethell have the capability to put Punjab under fielding pressure.
3. Middle-Order Woes
However, when these two falter, the team’s middle order hasn’t been able to contribute much either. While Shashank Singh’s numbers have been severely impacted due to his poor performance during the losing streak, other players in Punjab’s middle order haven’t been able to sustain their momentum at the crease. Even when batsmen get settled in at the crease, Punjab’s strike rate between ball 21 and 30 has fallen from 251.8 when winning matches to 132.6 when losing games.
This is where RCB will know what to do. Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar Kumar will go after Punjab’s opening combination aggressively. Should both of them fail, then Punjab’s fragile middle order might get exposed.
