Rajasthan Royals Hand Punjab Kings Their First Defeat in IPL 2026
Rajasthan Royals Triumph Over Punjab Kings
Under the leadership of Riyan Parag, the Rajasthan Royals achieved a significant milestone by becoming the first team to defeat Shreyas Iyer's Punjab Kings in the current season of the Indian Premier League. In match 40 of IPL 2026, held at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur on April 28, RR successfully chased down a target of 223 runs against PBKS. Despite this setback, Punjab Kings maintained their position at the top of the points table with 13 points. Meanwhile, this victory allowed Rajasthan Royals to ascend to third place with 12 points, while Royal Challengers Bengaluru sits in second place, also with 12 points. Sunrisers Hyderabad follows closely in fourth place.
With this win, RR secured their sixth victory of the season, moving them up in the rankings. This marked the first loss for PBKS after eight matches, yet they still hold the lead in the standings due to a solid net run rate (NRR) of +1.043, which keeps them ahead despite the high-scoring defeat. Rajasthan Royals improved their NRR to +0.617, solidifying their position in the top four, while SRH dropped to fourth place with 10 points from eight games and a commendable NRR of +0.815. Royal Challengers Bengaluru remains in second place, tied with RR on points but ahead due to a superior NRR of +1.919, the highest in the league so far, bolstered by their recent convincing win over Delhi Capitals.
Following Tuesday's match, the standings remained largely unchanged, except for the top four teams. Gujarat Titans are in fifth place with eight points, followed by Chennai Super Kings with six points. The standings are rounded out by Delhi Capitals, Kolkata Knight Riders (five points), Mumbai Indians (four points), and Lucknow Super Giants (four points).
IPL 2026 Points Table After PBKS vs RR
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Punjab Kings Experience Their First Setback
In Mullanpur, the Rajasthan Royals handed the Punjab Kings their first defeat of IPL 2026, winning by six wickets. Donovan Ferreira played a crucial role in this victory, scoring an unbeaten 52 runs off just 26 balls, which included six fours and three sixes, helping RR reach 228/4 in 19.2 overs while chasing 223 runs. Ferreira formed vital partnerships with Shubman Dubey (31*) and Riyan Parag (29). Punjab Kings managed to claim the wicket of Yashasvi Jaiswal, who had just reached his fifty, thanks to Yuzvendra Chahal in the 12th over, disrupting RR's momentum. Jaiswal departed after scoring 51 runs off 27 balls. Chahal also dismissed Dhruv Jurel for 16 runs in the tenth over, breaking another partnership. Arshdeep Singh ended Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's explosive innings in the fourth over, where he had hit five sixes and three fours, scoring at a strike rate of 268.75.
Earlier, Punjab Kings set a target of 222/4 in their 20 overs, with Marcus Stoinis delivering a powerful performance, scoring 62* off 22 balls, including a remarkable final over where he hit Brijesh Sharma for 24 runs. Shreyas Iyer, the captain of PBKS, contributed 30 runs from 27 balls before being dismissed by Nandre Burger in the 18th over.