Rajasthan Royals (RR) Punjab Kings (PBKS) were handed their first defeat of the 2026 Indian Premier League with a six-wicket win at the Maharaja Yadvendra Singh International Stadium in New Chandigarh in the 40th match of the marquee tournament on April 28.
Invited to bat, the Kings finished their innings with a competitive total of 222/6 in 20 overs. Prabhsimran Singhs top-order scored 59 off 44 balls, an innings that was slow for his lofty standards but set the stage for the hosts' innings. Punjab were slowed down in the middle overs by brilliant bowling from leg spinner Yash Punja, who took two wickets. Marcus Stoinis displayed brutal hitting at the back end, scoring unbeaten 62 off just 22 balls.
In reply, Royals got off to a great start, with Vaibhav Suryavanshi in great form opening the innings with a brilliant 43 off just 16 balls. Yashasvi Jaiswal continued the attack even after the fall of Vaibhav's wicket and scored another half-century.
Yuzvendra Chahal took three wickets, which affected the rhythm of Royals. Donovan FerreiraAlong with Shubham Dubey, he scored an inning of 77 runs in just 32 balls to lead the Royals to victory. Ferreira scored 52 runs in just 26 balls and Dubey scored 31 runs in 12 balls to stop the Punjab Kings juggernaut as Royals won with four balls to spare.
talking points
1. Don't forget about Yashasvi Jaiswal
While Vaibhav Suryavanshi may be RR's opening batsman, Yashasvi Jaiswal has shown that he is still a force to be reckoned with. Suryavanshi was out after playing a stormy innings of 43 runs in just 16 balls, but after this Jaiswal attacked the Kings bowlers. He scored an amazing half-century and scored 51 runs in just 27 balls, leading the Royals' chase.
2. Stoinis showed his strength
Marcus Stoinis has been the enforcer of Punjab's middle order, coming in towards the end of the innings to accelerate the scoring. Although his involvement this season has been limited to cameos, he showed his skill and fearsome hitting ability by scoring 62 runs in 22 balls to take the Kings to a total of 222. He scored 24 runs off Brijesh Sharma in the final over of the innings, which was a charming end to a merciless onslaught in the final three overs.
3. 'Willy Old Fox' Chahal is still at his best
Royals seemed to be on a run while chasing the target, but Yuzvendra Chahal, as he has done over the years, did not put brakes on the Royals innings. The leg spinner bowled cleverly and took 3 wickets for 36 runs in his four overs. He dismissed Dhruv Jurel on a full toss that was top-edged at long-on, then had both well-set Yashasvi Jaiswal and Riyan Parag caught trying to bowl. Chahal changing the game by tricking the batsmen while trying to clear the field and then getting destroyed is a scene that all the spectators of this competition have become accustomed to since his early days.
4. Have RR overcome their middle-order problems?
The Royals struggled to score runs from their middle order, but on this occasion the runs finally came from the middle order batsmen. Riyan Parag scored 29 runs in 16 balls, but the stars of the show were Shubham Dubey and Donovan Ferreira, who scored an unbeaten 77 runs in just 32 balls to guide Royals to victory. Ferreira, who was promoted to number five, remained unbeaten on 52 runs in 26 balls, while Shubham remained unbeaten on 31 runs in 12 balls. For the Royals against the Kings, one of the key shortcomings of their team has been filled, which they will hope to continue till the end of the season.
5. Punjab Kings' Rath Yatra finally got success
Eight games. It has taken this much time for Punjab Kings to suffer their first defeat of the season. The Royals completed the chase with four balls to spare, and Punjab Kings are feeling let down for the first time in 2026. While Shreyas Iyer's team has been one of the stronger teams this season, they will have to go back to the drawing board to return to winning ways.
PBKS vs LSG: Who said what?
Shreyas Iyer, PBKS captain
“224 was a fantastic score – congratulations to the batsmen. It was an exceptional performance on this pitch, which was hard and slow. We missed our execution. They had tremendous partnerships in the middle – Ferreira and Dube scored important runs at the end. This is a format where a lot of players have changed their game and they get on from the first ball.
At the end of the day, I think it's about execution. Tonight was not our day. It is important that we stick to the things that we are doing and have been following. The body was also a little tired but this cannot be the reason here.
We have a few days to go back to the drawing board and come back. This is our first defeat, it definitely teaches you a lot. We have played games where we chased and defended more than 200 runs. One of those days when it didn't go our way. Want to remain positive and optimistic. I thought it was difficult to score runs on spinners. It was catching and bending a bit. Brar showed such personality in his first game, hats off to him for that.”
Riyan Parag, RR captain,
“I think as a team what we discussed at the beginning of the tournament is that we take it as a normal game. I know everything around it has a lot of importance, but for us it is a normal game. When we lost the last game, we wanted to correct our mistakes. Today is the same thing again. We felt we could have stopped a lot, but then the batsmen picked us. In the next game, going forward, we will look at this game. Will review and then move forward.
Yes, 100%. I think we could have bowled a few better overs here and there and batted a few better overs in the middle. I would say 35 overs instead of 40. You will never get 40 overs but the aspiration is, you have to play good cricket for 40 overs. The concerns were different from ours, from everyone else's.
Everyone was watching, everyone was commenting, it was their concern, not ours. We have great confidence in our players and their abilities. When the middle order does not perform well, the openers and others have to pick it up. When the middle order performs well, we take advantage of it. So as a team we have full confidence in the team. All the worries and outside noise are for them, not for us.
I think the plan was to keep the wickets in hand but not fall too far behind the run rate. The way openers Vaibhav and Jaiswal went, I think it made our job a lot easier as always. The tough part after the powerplay was to maintain the pace, maintain the asking rate. I think after the powerplay we got 5, 8 run overs. But after that we performed well. Absolutely. The way he (Dubey) and Don batted was absolutely amazing. They took the game away from PBKS. The way he batted is commendable.”
Donovan Ferreira, Player of the Match
“It was a good innings. Just like when I was a kid and played with a toy truck, kept my mind good and clear. Just kept taking ball after ball, just kept telling people, we need to stay positive. It's not that difficult to get that score, but we need to show intent. Let's make calculations and play good cricket shots.
It's really important to take it ball by ball and not think too far ahead. I just kept reminding myself it's only 12-10, you know it's a good over and then the game becomes a lot easier. Luckily for me, Shubham came in and took a lot of pressure off me, he played a really important innings there and I knew if I hung in there, didn't lose my wicket, I could hold on in one over. Lucky for me it happened in Locky's over. You have to win games, stay in the top 4. It is a long tournament.
We just keep reminding ourselves that different people need to raise their hand. We criticize our openers who have been really good to us. I am really happy that I am hitting the ball well and Shubham came and did the same. Jaiswal and Vaibhav are always setting it up in the first few overs. But it is important for us to move forward and win the match for the team.”
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