Punjab Kings suffered a massive blow to their IPL 2026 Playoffs dreams as the Shreyas Iyer-led side slumped to their sixth consecutive loss on Sunday. Venkatesh Iyer and Virat Kohli slammed half-centuries while Rasikh Salam Dar took three wickets as Royal Challengers Bengaluru registered a 23-run victory in Dharamsala. The loss means that PBKS are currently fourth with 13 points from 13 matches. When it comes to the Playoffs race, PBKS will have to defeat Lucknow Super Giants in their last group stage match. However, it will not be enough as their qualification will depend on other results and Net Run Rate (NRR).
If PBKS win their match, they will need other teams to drop points. If Chennai Super Kings, Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders win just one out of their remaining matches, they will be below the 15-point mark. While CSK and KKR have two matches left in the group stages, RR have 3 left including the match against Delhi Capitals on Sunday.
If Sunrisers Hyderabad lose both of their remaining matches, they will be stuck at 14 points and a win for Punjab Kings in their last game can book their Playoffs spot considering only one other team reaches 16 points.
If KKR win both of their matches and PBKS win their remaining game, both teams will have 15 points. In that case, NRR may end up deciding which team finishes in the Top 4.
"Obviously, they got off to a great start and then started taking on the bowlers right after the powerplay. I think getting to 222 was a commendable performance and we weren't able to take wickets in the bowling that much, but yeah, I think the match was lost in the powerplay. (on the difficult chase after losing early wickets) Absolutely. We were three down and the majority of our run scorers were Prabhsimran and Priyansh. The starts they used to give us in the powerplay, obviously we couldn't get this time and also me coming in and getting out early. Really disappointed, but commendable performance by Shashank and Stoinis and also a few others in the middle. I think we were up there with almost 10 an over, but yeah, fell short."
"Tremendous bowling by Bhuvi and Hazlewood. (on staying positive ahead of the next game against Lucknow) No, definitely. I'm always positive irrespective of the results. It doesn't dictate how my personality is and I always approach with a strong attitude. I'm not someone who dwells too much in the past. This is over, this is gone. Tomorrow again I'm going to see the sunrise and there's always light at the end of the tunnel," Punjab Kings skipper Shreyas Iyer said.
from NDTV News- Special https://ift.tt/5BMv0RW
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