Punjab Kings will play a do-or-die match against Lucknow Super Giants in their final league game of the IPL 2026 at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow on Saturday.
PBKS will need to win in order to keep its hopes alive to finish fourth in the standings, but a defeat will knock the Shreyas Iyer-led side out of the tournament.
A win won’t guarantee a spot in the Playoffs as Punjab will have to wait for the results on Sunday when Rajasthan Royals, Kolkata Knight Riders, and Delhi Capitals play their final fixtures.
PBKS currently has 13 points in 13 games with a Net Run Rate (NRR) of +0.227, and a win will take it to 15 points with an increase in NRR. However, Rajasthan has 14 points in as many matches with NRR of +0.083 and only requires a win to make it to the next round.
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If Punjab wins and Rajasthan’s match against Mumbai Indians gets washed out, Riyan Parag & Co. will also have 15 points. However, PBKS’ superior NRR will make it the frontrunner to qualify for the Playoffs.
However, Kings will have to then watch KKR vs DC game. Kolkata’s NRR +0.011 won’t be enough to challenge Punjab’s, but it would hope that the Ajinkya Rahane-led side doesn’t beat Delhi by a massive margin. Although DC still has a mathematical chance to make it into the top four but its -0.871 NRR will make it very hard to achieve the desired spot.
What happens if both PBKS and RR lose?
Punjab losing to Lucknow will knock it out, but Rajasthan will still have a chance unless it loses by a massive margin. A big loss to RR will put Kolkata in front and a win by decent enough margin could land it a place. However, even a washout will keep Rajasthan alive.
DC would need a massive win to overtake Rajasthan.
So far, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Gujarat Titans, and Sunrisers Hyderabad have qualified for the Playoffs. RCB will meet GT in the Qualifier 1 in Dharamsala while SRH will go to New Chandigarh and wait who it will play in the Eliminator.
Published on May 23, 2026