IPL 2026: RCB first to seal playoff spot after dominant win over PBKS
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "IPL 2026: RCB first to seal playoff spot after dominant win over PBKS")
Virat Kohli celebrates with teammates Photograph: (AFP)
Royal Challengers Bengaluru became the first team to qualify for the IPL 2026 playoffs after defeating Punjab Kings in Dharamshala on Sunday.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru became the first team in IPL 2026 to qualify for the playoffs after defeating Punjab Kings by 23 runs in a high-scoring encounter at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium on Sunday (May 17). The result marked a sixth straight defeat for the Shreyas Iyer-led Punjab Kings, who failed to chase down 223 after a top-order collapse.
Chasing a daunting total, PBKS lost wickets in quick succession, with Bhuvneshwar Kumar striking twice in the powerplay to remove Priyansh Arya for a duck and the in-form Prabhsimran Singh for just two. Captain Shreyas Iyer also fell cheaply, leaving the side under pressure.
Although Suryansh Shedge (35 off 22) and Cooper Connolly briefly steadied the innings and later Shashank Singh (42) and Marcus Stoinis (37) also contributed, but regular breakthroughs kept PBKS on the back foot.
Despite a late push in the death overs, they finished short of the target as RCB sealed the win and booked their playoff spot with 18 points.
Earlier, RCB had posted a commanding 222/4, powered by half-centuries from Virat Kohli and Venkatesh Iyer. After a strong start in the powerplay, RCB kept the scoreboard ticking at a good pace and moved to 82/1 by the end of the seventh over.
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The impressive 76-run partnership between Kohli and Padikkal was eventually broken in the 10th over when Brar claimed his second wicket of the match by dismissing Padikkal for a quickfire 45 off 25 balls, an innings laced with four boundaries and three sixes.
Kohli, who stitched two half-century stands, further extended his dominance in the tournament's record books. The RCB star has now been part of 138 partnerships of 50 or more runs in IPL history, comfortably ahead of Rohit Sharma, who occupies the second spot with 107 such stands.
On the third delivery of the 17th over, Venkatesh brought up his maiden half-century of IPL 2026 in 29 balls. The milestone also marked the 13th fifty of his IPL career.
By the end of the 18th over, Bengaluru had crossed the 200-run mark as Tim David and Venkatesh unleashed a flurry of attacking strokes to keep the scoring rate soaring.
On the final ball of the 20th over, Arshdeep removed David after a quickfire 28 off just 12 deliveries, an innings featuring two boundaries and as many sixes, as RCB concluded their innings at a formidable 222/4. Venkatesh remained unbeaten on 73 from 40 balls, smashing eight fours and four sixes in a commanding knock.
For PBKS, Brar was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 2/35, while Arshdeep and Chahal chipped in with one wicket each.
Now, PBKS desperately need to win their next match against the already eliminated Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on Saturday to stay alive in the race for the playoffs.
With inputs from agencies
