Five losses on the bounce have left Punjab Kings with the unenviable task of taking down defending champion Royal Challengers Bengaluru to keep its playoffs hopes alive.

In what could be the defining game of their IPL 2026 season here on Sunday (May 17, 2026), the baggage of an unfavourable head-to-head record and a string of losses at the HPCA Stadium only add to the Kings’ quandary.

Since 2023, PBKS has just one win in seven games at the venue. And Virat Kohli’s crowd-pulling presence might leave it with thin support at its ‘adopted’ home. It will also have to put the horrors of consecutive playoffs losses to RCB behind it.

In the first of those defeats, in the first Qualifier in 2025, Josh Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar Kumar had torn through PBKS’ top-order. Bhuvneshwar, surfing the high of a purple patch, could again disrupt up front, having had the better of Prabhsimran Singh four times in nine innings.

“For us, Bhubneshwar did well last season also. This season, it is a different role for him. He is a world-class bowler and you know what skill set he has. He is just enjoying his bowling and expressing himself freely,” said Omkar Salvi, RCB’s bowling coach.

Though just one win away from sealing a top-four spot, RCB has its own batting frailties to tend to. Kohli comes on the back of a record-extending ninth IPL century, but his back-to-back ducks in the preceding two games give PBKS a plan to attack him with seam.

Jacob Bethell averages just 14.17 this season, which has left RCB without the explosive starts that it was accustomed to with Phil Salt. Down the order, Jitesh Sharma’s woeful run is probably the biggest concern for RCB as it gears up for post-season.