3 major reasons behind Punjab Kings' lost against RR in IPL 2026
Rajasthan Royals broke the Punjab Kings’ unbeaten streak in IPL 2026.
Under Shreyas Iyer’s captaincy, Punjab Kings (PBKS) have had a stellar run in the Indian Premier League 2026 so far. Since the start of the tournament, they have retained their top position in the points table.
The IPL 2025 runners-up completely dominated the opposition by winning six of eight matches, while one encounter against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) was washed out due to rain.
With the likes of Prabhsimran Singh, Priyansh Arya, Cooper Connolly, and Shreyas Iyer, PBKS have a lethal batting unit. They have chased down 200-plus targets with ease in IPL 2026. PBKS clashed with seven different opponents till the halfway stage, but none of them could overpower them.
However, their winning streak ended against the Rajasthan Royals (RR) on April 28, who crushed Shreyas Iyer & Co. by six wickets, chasing down a 223-run target. Below are the three major reasons behind PBKS’ defeat against RR.
Reasons behind Punjab Kings’ defeat against Rajasthan Royals-
Slow run-rate in middle-overs
Punjab Kings made a blistering start after being asked to bat first against RR, reaching 100 runs in just nine overs. However, their run-rate dropped in the middle overs due to slow batting by Prabhsimran Singh (59 off 44 balls) and Shreyas Iyer (30 off 27 balls).
Smacking a quickfire 62 off 22 balls with six sixes, Marcus Stoinis took the scoreboard to 222/4. Hence, Punjab were brilliant in the first 10 overs and the death overs, but they failed to score enough runs in the middle phase of the match.
Failed bowling attack in the Powerplay
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Yashasvi Jaiswal are among the most lethal openers in IPL 2026, and they replicated their heroics against PBKS. They added 51 runs for the first wicket in just three overs, and RR posted 84 runs in the powerplay.
PBKS tried four different bowlers in the powerplay; however, none of them could take enough wickets and proved expensive, leading to a major setback for the team early in the second innings.
Expensive spells by PBKS main pacers
Spinner Yuzvendra Chahal was the leading wicket-taker for PBKS with three wickets, while Harpreet Brar went wicketless but bowled at a brilliant economy of 6.20.
On the contrary, pacers Arshdeep Singh, Lockie Ferguson, and Marco Jansen were too expensive, registering an economy of over 12.
Punjab’s leading bowler, Arshdeep, leaked 68 runs in his four-over spell. On the other hand, Ferguson conceded 57 runs in his first game of the season. Lockie also failed to take a wicket in that match.
Who won the clash between Punjab Kings and Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2026 on April 28?
Rajasthan Royals outplayed PBKS by six wickets.
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Vikas Singh Derek is a core cricket-lover since childhood and has always followed the sport both in his personal and professional life. He started his school life by watching cricket at home with family. Later, he played cricket on the field at local clubs during college. After his Master's in Journalism from Mumbai, he followed his passion by covering cricket news across various digital media. Since 2015, he has been an aspiring sports journalist and cricket content writer with over 50K+ articles.