Royal Challengers Bengaluru became the first team to qualify for the IPL 2026 Playoffs after a 23 run victory against Punjab Kings in Dharamsala on Sunday.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar was the best performer of the night across both teams in terms of match impact, securing a rating of 9.8. His opening spell which removed both openers in the PowerPlay helped RCB take control of the game early.
For PBKS, Harpreet Brar was the standout performer, taking two wickets and bowling an economical spell in the first innings.
PUNJAB KINGS
Priyansh Arya - 1/10: The PBKS opener was dismissed for a three-ball duck by Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the first over of the chase.
Prabhsimran Singh - 1/10: Another failure for the PBKS keeper batter. Gifted his wicket by edging Bhuvneshwar to the slip cordon after scoring just two runs.
Cooper Connolly- 5/10: The Australian staged a brief fightback with some attacking shots but was dismissed in his 30s by Romario Shepherd (37 off 22 balls, 3 fours, 3 sixes).
Shreyas Iyer - 1.5/10: The PBKS skipper was snared by a cross-seam delivery from Rasikh Dar, completing PBKS’ top-order collapse. (1 runs from 3 balls).
Shashank Singh- 7/10: Shashank fought till the end but his efforts did not prove to be enough as his side fell short of the target by 23 runs (56 off 27 balls, 4 fours, 4 sixes).
Suryansh Shedge- 4/10: Shedge, like Connolly showed intent with a flurry of boundaries but could not convert his start to a big score (35 off 22 balls, 2 fours, 2 sixes).
Marcus Stoinis- 4.5/10: Stoinis, along with Shashank played a counter attacking innings to help PBKS stay in the chase but was dismissed when he was trying to shift gears (37 off 25 balls, five fours).
Azmatullah Omarzai- 5/10: The Afghan all-rounder could not replicate his form with the ball from the last game against RCB today. Azmat went for runs and did not pick up a wicket (0/38 in four overs). With the bat, Azmat struck a six and a four in a brief cameo (14 runs off 10 balls, 1 four, 1 six).
Harpreet Brar - 9/10: Another impressive performance for the left-arm spinner against RCB. Claimed two wickets and gave away just 35 runs.
Arshdeep Singh - 4.5/10: Started with an economical first over, before slipping up in the latter part of his spell (1/43 in four overs)
Yuzvendra Chahal - 2/10: Another forgetful outing for the leg spinner. Took the big wicket of Kohli, but gave away 42 runs in three overs before being subbed off. (1/42 in 3 overs)
ROYAL CHALLENGERS BENGALURU
Jacob Bethell- 2.5/10: The Englishman had a poor outing with the bat again. Bethell rode his luck in the first few deliveries before he played one onto the stumps (11 off 7 balls, 2 fours).
Virat Kohli - 5/10: The star Indian batter crossed 500 runs for the season with a 37-ball 58. But, Kohli failed to kick on after a strong start before he was caught in the deep. (58 off 37 balls, 4 fours, 3 sixes)
Devdutt Padikkal- 5.5/10: The left hander played a breezy hand but was dismissed on the cusp of reaching his half century (45 off 25 balls, 4 fours, 3 sixes).
Venkatesh Iyer - 7.5/10: Played his best knock in RCB colours as he took on almost all PBKS bowlers alike and ensured his side finished strongly. (73 off 40 balls, 8 fours, four sixes).
Tim David- 6/10: David played a quickfire cameo in the back end, smashing a six and a four in the last over to take RCB to 222 (28 off 12 balls, 2 fours, 2 sixes).
Jitesh Sharma - 2/10: Captained the side in place of the injured Rajat Patidar. Didn’t get to bat, but was a steady presence with the gloves.
Romario Shepherd - 5/10: Shepherd did not get the chance to bat today. With the ball, he only bowled the one over but took the crucial wicket of Cooper Connolly when the Australian was going great guns (1/8 in 1 over).
Krunal Pandya- 4.5/10: Krunal went wicketless today and bowled a controlled spell (0/27 in 3 overs).
Suyash Sharma- 2.5/10: The leg spinner bowled an expensive spell but picked up the crucial wicket of Suryansh Shedge (1/52 from four overs).
Josh Hazlewood- 6/10: The Aussie nailed his yorkers in the death overs to help RCB defend the target. Hazlewood also took the wicket of fellow Australian Marcus Stoinis when PBKS were staging a fightback (1/36 from four overs).
Bhuvneshwar Kumar- 9.5/10: Bhuvneshwar was once again the standout performer with the ball, removing PBKS opening pair in the PowerPlay to help RCB assert dominance (2/38 from four overs).
Rasikh Salam- 8.5/10: The J and K pacer had a successful outing with the ball, taking the big wicket of PBKS captain Shreyas Iyer and adding two more to his tally in the final over of the game. (3/36 from four overs).
Published on May 17, 2026