table of contents
The defeat against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) has put Punjab Kings’ (PBKS) chances for the IPL 2026 play-offs in jeopardy. With today’s defeat, the team captained by Shreyas Iyer has confirmed its losing streak of 6 matches. They still have one more match to play in the group stage, and it will be a must-win match for them.
PBKS, the runners-up of the IPL 2025 season, made a great start to their IPL 2026 campaign by winning 7 consecutive matches. He remained the table topper without a single defeat. They were on the verge of qualifying for the next round. From there they are now on the verge of elimination. Has he already been disqualified from the title race?
PBKS qualification scenario in IPL 2026 playoffs
Mathematically, Punjab Kings can still make it to the playoffs. But, with six defeats in 13 matches, they will have to keep an eye on the results of other games as the race for the playoffs is still very open, with many teams remaining in the competition.
Punjab’s next match will be against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on May 23 at the Ekana Cricket Stadium, an away match which is a must-win match at any cost. If PBKS manages to win the game, they will have a total of 15 points; He now has 13 points.
As stated on the official website of the Indian Premier League, “Given the rush of teams heading into the round of 16, a win could put them in a difficult position.”
RCB defeated Punjab in every department
In today’s match, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) played without their regular captain Rajat Patidar. In place of Patidar, it was Venkatesh Iyer, who has spent most of the time warming the bench with RCB in IPL 2026, who played a leading role with the bat against Punjab Kings.
RCB scored 222 runs for the loss of 4 wickets in 20 overs, which mainly included Venkatesh Iyer’s unbeaten 77 runs, Virat Kohli’s 58 runs and Devdutt Padikkal’s 45 runs.
PBKS suffered early setbacks as they lost three top batsmen in the form of Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh and captain Shreyas Iyer inside the powerplay. Punjab tried to fight back with the strength of their middle order and Shashank Singh scored a half-century in the process.
However, the effort put in by the middle-order batsmen was not enough to claim the huge score set by Royal Challengers Bangalore. As PBKS managed to score 199 runs in 10 overs, RCB won the match by 23 runs.
Longest losing streak for PBKS in IPL.
7 in 2015
6* in 2026
5 in 2011
5 in 2018
5 in 2020
Shreyas Iyer has not lost all hope yet
Despite the difficult circumstances, Punjab Kings captain Shreyas Iyer does not want to lose any hope. After the match, Iyer said that he was looking forward to seeing the sunrise.
Shreyas Iyer said, “I always remain positive regardless of the results. It doesn’t decide how my personality is, and I always come with a strong outlook. I’m not one who lives too much in the past. It’s over, it’s gone. Tomorrow again I’m going to see the sunrise, and there’s always light at the end of the tunnel.”
Read More: “Really disappointed”: Shreyas Iyer breaks silence after PBKS suffer sixth straight defeat in IPL 2026
